T 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


1  1 1 


MOUNT  VEKNON 


ITS    ASSOCIATIONS, 


BY  BENSON  J.  LOSSING. 


ILLUSTRATED   BY   XUMP]ROUS   EXGRAVIXGS, 

CHIKPLY    FROM    ORIGINAL    DRAWINGS    BY  THE  AUTHOR,  ENGRAVED  BY  LOSSING  *   BARRITT. 


X  K  \\r    Y  0  R  K  : 

.     A  .     T  O  AV  1ST  S  K  N  I)     «to     COMPANY, 
46    WALKER    8  T  U  K  E  T . 
1859. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

BENSON  J.  L03SING. 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


C.    A.    ALVOK1I,    PK1NTKR,    XKW    YORK. 


TO  HIS 
PATRIOTIC     COUNT 

BY   WHOSE  EFFORTS 

<T  b  t    1  o  m  f    a  n  b    <T  o  m  b    of    <SH a s b  i n  9 1 o  n 

£  & 

HAVE    BEEN    RESCUED 

FROM  DECAY. 
This    Volume    is    Dedicated 

BY 

THE    AUTHOR, 


PREFACE. 


THE  title  of  this  volume  is  so  fully  indicative  of  its  character 
that  scarcely  a  word  of  "  foretalk,"  as  the  Saxon  expresses  it, 
seems  necessary,  except  a  remark  that  the  work,  without  pre- 
tension to  the  character  of  a  biography,  presents,  by  the 
consecutive  arrangement  of  facts  and  illustrations,  quite  a 
complete  picture  of  the  Private  and  Domestic  Life  of  Wash- 
ington ;  for  that  life,  from  his  early  childhood,  was  associated 
with  Mount  Vernon. 

The  following  words,  explanatory  of  the  origin  of  the  book, 
appear  proper. 

Early  in  October,  1858,  I  visited  Mount  Vemon,  and  en- 
joyed the  hospitalities  of  the  mansion  for  two  or  three  days. 
While  there  I  sketched  many  things  with  which  Washington 
was  associated  in  life,  and,  on  my  return,  wrote  a  narrative 
of  the  visit  for  Harper's  New  Monthly  Magazine,  entitled 
Mount  Vernon  as  it  Is,  illustrating  it  by  engravings  from 
those  sketches. 

On  the  appearance  of  that  narrative,  last  March,  the  pub- 
lishers of  this  volume  conceived  the  plan  of  a  more  extended 


8  PREFACE. 

account  of  Mount  Vernon  and  its  Associations,  and  desired 
me  to  prepare  it.  As  the  possession  of  that  estate  was  to 
pass,  this  year,  from  the  Washington  family  forever,  it  ap- 
peared to  be  an  appropriate  time  for  the  preparation  of  such 
a  memorial,  and  I  undertook  it.  The  following  pages  are  the 
result. 

To  make  the  work  more  complete,  I  visited  Arlington 
House  and  other  places,  where  I  knew  there  were  objects  that 
were  once  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  made  sketches  of  them. 
Those,  and  the  drawings  made  for  Harper's  Magazine,  and  a 
few  that  are  in  my  Field- Book  of  the  Revolution,  are  given 
in  this  work. 

To  those  friends  who  kindly  afforded  me  facilities  for  form- 
ing drawings,  and  especially  to  the  family  of  Colonel  Lee,  at 
Arlington  House,  and  Mr.  John  A.  "Washington,  at  Mount 
Vernon,  I  here  acknowledge  my  obligations,  and  tender  my 

thanks. 

B.  J.  L. 

POUGHKEEPSIE,  August,  1859. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I'AOK 

1.  Portrait  of  Washington  (steel). 

2.  Rear  View  of  Mount  Vernon  in  1786  (steel). 

3.  Frontispiece — View  of  Mount  Vernon. 

4.  Washington's  Book-plate 13 

5.  Cave  Castle 15 

6.  Washington  Mortar 16 

7.  Washington's  Seal 17 

8.  Washington's  Seal-ring 17 

9.  Washington's  Watch-seals 17 

10.  Fac-simile  of  signatures  of  Jane  and  Mary  Washington. 18. 

11.  Dutch  Tile — half  the  size  of  the  original 20 

12.  Residence  of  the  Washington  Family 21 

1 3.  Washington's  Birth-place 22 

14.  Lawrence  Washington , , . ...  25 

1 5.  Admiral  Vernon 2G 

16.  The  Vernon  Medal 28 

17.  Washington's  Telescope 36 

18.  Pack-saddle 30 

19.  Leathern  Camp-chest 39 

20.  Washington's  first  Head-quarters.    41 

21.  The  Carey  House  in  1859 42 

22.  Mary  Phillipse 45 

23.  Morris's  House 46 

24.  Daniel  Parke  Custis 50 

25.  Mrs.  Custis's  Iron  Chest. . .    50 

26.  Mrs.  Washington's  Children 52 

27.  Mrs.  Washington  at  the  time  of  her  Marriage 53 

28.  Chairs  once  at  Mount  Vernon. .  55 


10  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

29.  Custis  Arms 60 

30.  Washington's  Gold  Pen  with  Silver  Cape 66 

31.  Fac-simile  of  Page-headings  in  Washington's  Diary 66 

32.  Fac-simile  of  Entry  in  Washington's  Diary . .  67 

33.  Mount  Vernon  Landing 69 

34.  Ground-plan  and  Elevation  of  Pohick  Church 74 

.35.  Mason  L.  Weems 76 

36.  Christ  Church,  Alexandria 77 

37.  Pohick  Church  in  1859 78 

38.  Pulpit  in  Pohick  Church 79 

39.  Charles  Willson  Peale 81 

40.  Washington's  Military  Button 81 

41.  Washington  as  a  Virginia  Colonel,  at  the  age  of  forty 82 

42.  Fac-simile  of  Peale's  Receipt 83 

43.  John  Parke  Custis 84 

44.  Patrick  Hohry 89 

45.  General  Charles  Lee . . 94 

46.  General  Horatio  Gates 96 

47.  Gold  Medal  awarded  to  Washington  for  the  Deliverance  of  Boston 102 

48.  Hessian  Flag'  taken  at  Trenton 103 

49.  British  Flag  taken  at  Yorktown 104 

50.  Count  de  Rochambeau 107 

51.  Marquis  de  Chastellux. 109 

52.  Eleanor  Parke  Custis 114 

53.  Washington's  Military  Clothes 119 

54.  The  Sword  and  Staff 121 

55.  Washington's  Camp-chest 122 

56.  Silver  Camp-goblet 1 24 

57.  Washington's  travelling  Writing-case 125 

58.  Washington's  Tents  in  their  Portmanteaux 126 

59.  Order  of  the  Cincinnati 129 

60.  Order  presented  by  French  Officers 130 

61.  Cincinnati  Society — Member's  Certificate 131 

62.  Western  Front  of  Mount  Vernon  in  1858 137 

63.  Section  of  shaded  Carriage-way 140 

64.  General  plan  of  the  Mansion  and  Grounds  at  Mount  Vernon 141 

65.  Garden-house 143 

66.  Century-plant  and  Lemon-tree 144 

67.  View  in  the  Flower-garden  at  Mount  Vernon — the  Sago  Palm 145 

68.  Ruins  of  the  Conservatory  at  Mount  Vernon 146 

69.  Ice-house  at  Mount  Vernon ..                                                                         .  147 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  11 

PAG  a 

70.  Summer-house  at  Mount  Vernon ...      148 

71.  Lafayette.— Painted  by  C.  W.  Peale,  in  1778 152 

72.  Masonic  Apron  wrought  by  the  Marchioness  Lafayette 153 

73.  Houdou's  Bust  of  Washington 163 

74.  Houdou's  Statue  of  Washington 164 

75.  Elizabeth  Parke  Custis 168 

76.  G.  W.  P.  Custis  when  a  child 169 

77.  Italian  Chimuey-piece 172 

78.  Tablet  on  the  left,  of  Chimney-piece 173 

79.  Centre  Tablet 173 

80.  Tablet  on  the  right  of  Chimney-piece 173 

81.  Porcelain  Vases 174 

82.  Oolouel  David  Humphreys   181 

83.  Engraving  of  Louis  XVI 183 

84.  Washington  and  Lafayette 185 

85.  Washington's  Destiny 186 

86.  Charles  Thomson 193 

87.  Travelling  Boot-jack 195 

88.  Ancient  entrance  to  Mount  Vernon  in  1858 , . . . .  196 

89.  Bible  used  at  the  Inauguration  of  Washington 202 

90.  Washington's  Lepine  Watch,  Seal  and  Key   207 

91.  Washington's  last  Watch-seal 207 

92.  Washington's  Dress  Sword 211 

93.  Secretary  and  Circular  Chair 215 

94.  Destruction  of  the  Bastile 221 

95.  Key  of  the  Bastile 223 

96.  Washington's  Spy-glass 224 

97.  Washington's  Pistol 226 

98.  Bust  of  M.  Necker 229 

99.  Bust  of  Lafayette 230 

100.  Washington's  English  Coach    232 

101.  Emblazon  .ng  on  Washington's  Coach 233 

102.  Picture  of  a  Panel  on  Washington's  Coach 234 

103.  Cincinnati  China 240 

104.  Mrs.  Washington's  China 241 

105.  China  Butter-bowl  and  Dish 242 

106.  Wine-coolers  and  Coaster 251 

107.  Specimens  of  Washington's  Plate 252 

108.  The  Presidential  Mansion 253 

109.  Martha  Washington 261 

1 10.  Nelly  Custis's  Harpsichord 268 


12  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOI 

111.  George  Washington  Lafayette 286 

112.  G.  W.  P.  Custis  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years 294 

113.  Crayon  Profile  of  Washington 296 

114.  Crayon  Profile  of  Mrs.  Washington 297 

115.  Washington's  Inkstand 300 

116.  Mural  Candelabra 301 

117.  Ancient  Lantern 301 

118.  Sideboard,  Tea-table  and  Punch-bowl 303 

119.  Washington's  Silver  Candlestick 303 

120.  Morning — a  Landscape  by  Winstanley 305 

121.  Evening — a  Landscape  by  Winstanley 305 

122.  Dr.  James  Craik 318 

123.  Bed  and  Bedstead  on  which  Washington  died 323 

124.  Room  in  which  Washington  died 324 

125.  Silver  Shield  on  Washington's  Coffin 327 

126.  Washington's  Bier 329 

127.  The  Old  Vault  in  1858 330 

128.  General  Henry  Lee 332 

129.  McPherson's  Blue 334 

130.  Bushrod  Washington 337 

131.  Westford 333 

132.  Washington's  Marble  Coffin 342 

133.  Lid  of  Washington's  Coffin 342 

134.  Washington's  Tomb 343 

135.  Washington's  Liquor-chest 347 

136.  Washington's  Mirror 347 

137.  Water-mark .  343 

138.  Washington's  Address  Card 348 

139.  Pitcher  Portrait .350 


MOUNT  YERNON  AND  ITS  ASSOCIATIONS. 


K  many  an  ancient 
volume  in  the  lib- 
rary at  Mount  Yer- 
;  non,  while  the  man- 
sion remained  in  the 
possession  of  the 
"Washington  family, 
was  the  engraved 
book-plate  of  the  il- 
lustrious proprietor, 
which  displayed,  as 
usual,  the  name  and 
armorial  bearings  of 
the  owner.  The  lan- 
guage of  heraldry 
learnedly  describes 
the  family  arms  of 
"Washington  as  "  argent,  two  bars  gules  in  chief,  three  mullets 
of  the  second.  Crest,  a  raven,  with  wings,  indorsed  proper, 
issuing  out  of  a  ducal  coronet,  or"  All  this  may  be  in- 
interpreted,  a  white  or  silver  shield,  with  two  red  bars  across 


WASHINGTON  S    BOOK-PLATE. 


14  MOUNT    VERNON 

it,  and  above  them  three  spur  rowels,  the  combination  ap- 
pearing very  much  like  the  stripes  and  stars  on  our  national 
ensign.  The  crest,  a  raven  of  natural  color  issuing  out  of  a 
golden  ducal  coronet.  The  three  mullets  or  star-figures  indi- 
cated the  filial  distinction  of  the  third  son. 

Back  into  the  shadowy  past  six  hundred  years  and  more 
we  may  look,  and  find  the  name  of  Washington  presented 
with  "honorable  mention"  in  several  counties  in  England,  on 
the  records  of  the  field,  the  church,  and  the  state.  They  were 
generally  first-class  agriculturists,  and  eminently  loyal  men 
when  their  sovereigns  were  in  trouble.  In  that  trying  time 
for  England's  monarch,  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  years 
ago,  when  a  republican  army,  under  the  authority  of  a  revo- 
lutionary parliament,  was  hunting  King  Charles  the  First,  Sir 
Henry  Washington,  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  is 
observed  as  governor  of  Worcester,  and  its  able  defender 
during  a  siege  of  three  months  by  the  parliamentary  troops 
under  General  Fairfax.  And  earlier  than  this,  when  Charles, 
as  Prince  Royal,  was  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  the  Infanta  of 
Spain,  we  find  a  Washington  attached  to  his  person.  The 
loyal  James  Howell,  who  suffered  long  imprisonment  in 
Fleet-street  Jail  because  of  his  attachment  to  Charles,  was  in 
the  train  of  the  Prince  while  at  Madrid ;  and  from  that  city 
he  wrote  to  his  "noble  friend,  Sir  John  North,"  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1623,  saying : 

"  Mr.  Washington,  the  Prince  his  page  is  lately  dead  of  a 
Calenture,  and  I  was  at  his  buriall  under  a  Figtree  behind  my 
Lord  of  Bristol's  house.  A  little  before  his  death  one  Hoi- 
lard,  an  English  Priest,  went  to  tamper  with  him,  and  Sir 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


15 


Edmund  Varney  meeting  him  coming  down  the  stairs  out 
of  Washington^  chamber,  they  fell  from  words  to  blows :  but 
they  were  parted.  The  business  was  like  to  gather  very  ill 
blond,  and  com  to  a  great  hight,  had  not  Count  Gondamar 
quasht  it,  which  I  beleeve  he  could  not  have  done,  unless  the 
times  had  bin  favorable ;  for  such  is  the  reverence  they  bear 
to  the  Church  here,  and  so  holy  a  conceit  they  have  of  all 
Ecclesiastics,  that  the  greatest  Don  in  Spain  wrill  tremble  to 
offer  the  meanest  of  them  any  outrage  or  affront." 


CAVE    CASTLE. 


From  this  loyal  family  came  emigrants  to  America  nine 
years   after   King   Charles   lost  his  head.     These  were   two 


1C  MOUNT     VEKXOH 

brothers,  true  Cavaliers,  who  could  not  brook  the  rule  of 
Cromwell,  the  self-styled  Lord  Protector  of  England.  They 
left  their  beautiful  residence  of  Cave  Castle,  north  of  the 
Huinbcr,  in  Yorkshire,  and  sought  more  freedom  of  life  in  the 
virgin  soil  of  the  New  World.  And  in  later  years  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Washingtous  and  Fairfaxes,  who  were  neigh- 
bors and  friends  in  Virginia,  found  themselves,  in  political 
positions,  opposed  to  those  of  their  ancestors;  that  of  the 
former  being  the  great  leader  of  a  republican  army,  and  of 
the  latter  a  most  loyal  adherent  of  the  crown. 

The  Washingtons  who  first  came  to  America  seem  not  to 
have  been  possessed  of  much  wealth.  They  brought  with 
them  no  family  plate  as  evidences  of  it ;  for  the  heiress  of  the 
family  had  given  her  hand  and  fortune  to  an  English  baronet, 
the  master  of  the  fine  estate  of  Studley  Royal,  where  now  the 
eldest  son  of  the  late  Earl  of  Ripon. 
resides.  It  is  believed  that  there  is 
only  one  relic  of  the  old  Washington 
family  in  this  country,  and  that  is 
a  small  bronze  mortar,  having  the 
letters  "  C.  W."  (the  initials  of  CIMOX 

>'-*!>-,  " 

WASHINGTON)  and  the  date,   "1664," 
cast  upon  it.     That  mortar  is  in  In- 
dependence Hall,  in  Philadelphia. 

The  Northamptonshire  family,  from  whom  George  Wash- 
ington was  descended,  wTore  the  motto  seen  upon  his  book- 
plate— EXITUS  ACTAPKOBAT:  "The  end  justifies  the  means;" 
and  it  was  borne  and  heeded  by  the  line  from  generation  to 
generation,  until  the  most  illustrious  of  them  all  had  achieved 
the  greatest  ends  by  the  most  justifiable  means. 


WASHINGTON    MORTAR. 


AXD    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


WASHINGTON  S   SEAL. 


The  annexed  engraving  is  from  an  impression  of  General 
Washington's  seal,  bearing  his  family  arms,  attached  to  the 
death-warrant  of  a  soldier  executed  at 
Morristown,  in  1780.  Below  it  is  an 
engraving  of  the  face  of  his  seal-ring,  « 
which  also  bears  his  arms  and  motto ; 
and  also  of  two  watch-seals  which  he 
wore  together  in  early  life.  Upon  each 
of  the  last  two  is  engraved  his  mono- 
gram, one  of  them  being  a  fac-simile  of 
his  written  initials.  One  of  these  was  lost  by  Washington 
himself  on  the  bloody  field  of  Monongahela,  where  Braddock 
was  defeated  in  1755 ;  and  the  other  by  his 
nephew,  in  Virginia,  more  than  twenty-five 
years  ago.  Both  were  found  in  the  year  1854, 
and  restored  to  the  Washington  family.* 

Of  all  the  volumes  in  the  Mount  Vernon 
library  which  contain  Washington's  book- 
plate none  appears  more  interesting  than 
Sir  Matthew  Ilale's  Contemplations,  Moral 
and  Divine,  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century.  It  is  well  worn  by  frequent  use ; 
for  it  was  from  that  volume  that  Washington's 
mother  drew  many  of  those  great  maxims 
which  she  instilled  into  the  mind  of  her  WASHINGTON'S 
son,  and  wdiicli  had  a  powerful  influence  in 


SKAL-K1KG. 


WATCH-SEALS. 


*  This  statement  is  made  on  tlie  authority  of  Charles  J.  Bushnell,  Esq.,  of  New 
York,  whose  investigations  in  numismatic  science  and  kindred  subjects  have  been 
careful  and  extensive.     The  engravings  of  the  seals  are  copied,  by  his  permission, 
from  a  work  ol  his  now  in  preparation  for  the  press. 
2 


18 


MOUNT    V  E  R  N 0  X 


moulding  his  moral  character.  Upon  a  fly-leaf  of  the 
volume  are  written,  in  bold  characters,  the  names  of  the 
two  wives  of  Augustine  Washington,  the  father  of  our  be- 
loved Friend.  These  were  JANE  BUTLER  and  MAEY  BALL. 
Their  names  were  written  by  themselves,  the  first  with  ink 
that  retains  its  original  blackness,  and  the  second  with  a 
color  that  has  faded  to  the  tint  of  warm  sepia. 


FAC-SIMILE   OF   SIGNATURES. 


These  signatures  send  the  thoughts  on  busy  retrospective 
errands  to  the  pleasant  mansions  and  broad  and  fertile  plant- 
ations of  Virginia,  when  the  Old  Dominion  was  as  loyal  to  the 
second  King  George  of  England  as  to  the  second  King  Charles 
in  the  days  of  Berkeley,  almost  a  hundred  years  before ;  or 
when  royal  governors  held  vice-regal  courts  at  Williamsburg, 
the  capital  of  the  Commonwealth  twenty  years  after  repub- 
lican Bacon's  torch  had  laid  old  Jamestown  in  ashes.  Espe- 
cially do  they  send  the  thoughts  to  the  beautiful  spot  near 
the  Potomac,  half  way  between  Pope's  and  Bridge's  Creek,  in 
Westmoreland,  where  stood  a  modest  mansion,  surrounded  by 
the  holly  and  more  stately  trees  of  the  forest,  in  which  lived 
Mary,  the  mother  of  the  great  Washington. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  19 

In  the  possession  of  an  old  Virginian  family  may  be  seen  a 
picture,  in  which  is  represented  a  rampant  lion  holding  a 
globe  in  his  paw,  a  helmet  and  shield,  a  vizor  strong,  and 
coat  of  mail  and  other  emblems  of  strength  and  courage;  and 
for  a  motto  the  words,  from  Ovid,  Ccelumque  tueri.  On  the 
back  of  the  picture  is  written : 

"  The  coat  of  arms  of  Colonel  "William  Ball,  who  came  from 
England  with  his  family  about  the  year  1650,  and  settled  at 
the  mouth  of  Corotoman  River,  in  Lancaster  county,  Vir- 
ginia, and  died  in  1669,  leaving  two  sons,  "William  and 
Joseph,  and  one  daughter,  Hannah,  who  married  Daniel  Fox. 
William  left  eight  sons  (and  one  daughter),  five  of  whom 
have  now  (Anno  Domini  1779)  male  issue.  Joseph's  male 
issue  is  extinct.  General  George  Washington  is  his  grandson, 
by  his  youngest  daughter,  Mary."  Here  we  have  the  Amer- 
ican pedigree  of  the  mother  of  "Washington. 

In  that  modest  mansion  near  the  Potomac,  of  which  we 
have  just  spoken,  a  great  patriot  was  born  of  a  mother  eight- 
and-twenty  years  of  age,  when  the  popular  "William  Gooch 
was  royal  governor  of  Virginia ;  and  in  an  old  family  Bible, 
in  Hanover  county,  of  quarto  form,  dilapidated  by  use  and 
age,  and  covered  with  striped  Virginia  cloth,  might  have  been 
seen,  a  few  years  ago,  the  following  record,  in  the  handwriting 
of  the  father  of  that  Patriot : 

"  George  Washington,  son  to  Augustine  and  Mary  his  wife, 
was  born  y"  llth  day  of  February,  1731-2,  about  ten  in  the 
morning,  and  was  baptized  the  3d  of  April  following;  Mr, 
Beverly  Whiting  and  Captain  Christopher  Brooks,  godfathers, 
and  Mrs.  Mildred  Gregory  godmother." 

Almost  three  hundred  years  ago  Pope  Gregory  the  Thir- 


20 


MOUNT     VERNON 


teenth  ordained  that  ten  days  should  be  added  to  the  tally  of 
all  past  time  since  the  birth  of  Jesus,  to  make  up  some  frac- 
tional deficiencies  in  the  calendar ;  and  twenty  years  after  the 
above  record  was  made,  the  British  government  ordered  the 
Gregorian  calendar,  or  new  style,  as  it  was  called,  to  be 
adopted.  The  deficiency  was  then  eleven  days,  and  these 
were  added.  So  we  date  the  birth  of  Washington,  and  cele- 
brate its  anniversary,  on  the  twenty-second  instead  of  the 
eleventh  of  February. 

Washington's  birth-place  was  a  "  four-roomed  house,  with  a 
chimney  at  each  end,"  perfectly  plain  outside  and  in.     The 


DUTCH   TILE. — HALF   THE   SIZE    OF   THE    ORIGINAL. 

only  approach  to  ornament  was  a  Dutch-tiled  chimney-piece 
in  the  best  room,  covered  with  rude  pictures  of  Scriptural 
scenes ;  but  around  the  mansion  there  were  thrift  and  abun- 
dance. George  was  the  eldest  of  his  mother's  six  children, 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  21 

and  only  his  infant  years  were  passed  under  the  roof  where  he 
first  saw  the  light ;  for  fire  destroyed  the  house,  and  his  father 
removed  to  an  estate  in  Stafford  county,  near  Fredericksburg, 
and  dwelt  in  an  equally  plain  mansion,  pleasantly  seated  near 
the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock  River. 


RESIDENCE   OF  THB   WASHINGTON    FAMILY. 


Of  the  birth-place  of  Washington  nothing  now  remains  but 
a  chimney  and  a  few  scattered  bricks  and  stones ;  and  around 
it,  where  the  smiles  of  highest  culture  were  once  seen,  there  is 
an  aspect  of  desolation  that  makes  the  heart  feel  sad.  Some 
decayed  fig-trees  and  tangled  shrubs  and  vines,  with  here  and 
there  a  pine  and  cedar  sapling,  tell,  with  silent  eloquence,  of 
neglect  and  ruin,  and  that  decay  has  laid  its  blighting  fingers 


22 


MOUNT    VERNON 


upon  every  work  of  man  there.  The  vault  of  the  Washington 
family,  wherein  many  were  buried,  is  so  neglected  that  some 
of  the  remains  exposed  to  view  have  been  carried  away  by 
plunderers.  All  around  it  are  stunted  trees,  shrubs,  and 
briers ;  and  near  it  may  be  seen  fragments  of  slabs  once  set 
up  in  commemoration  of  some  of  that  honored  family. 


WASHINGTON  S   BIRTH-PLACE. 


On  the  spot  where  Washington  was  born,  the  late  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  a  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
placed  a  piece  of  freestone  in  1S15,  with  the  simple,  inscrip- 
tion: 

HEKE, 

ON  THE   UTII   OF  FEBRUARY,   1732, 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WAS  BORN 

"We  gathered  together,"  says  Mr.  Custis,  in  a  published 
account,  "  the  bricks  of  the  ancient  chimney  that  once  formed 
the  hearth  around  which  Washington,  in  his  infancy,  had 
played,  and  constructed  a  rude  kind  of  pedestal,  on  which  we 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  23 

reverently  placed  the  FIRST  STONE,  commending  it  to  the  re- 
spect and  protection  of  the  American  people  in  general,  and 
the  citizens  of  Westmoreland  in  particular."  But  such  re- 
spect and  protection  have  been  withheld,  and  that  stone  is 
now  in  fragments  and  overgrown  with  brambles. 

In  this  vicinity  lived  some  of  the  Lees,  always  a  distin- 
guished family  in  Virginia ;  and  one  of  the  most  intimate  of 
Washington's  friends,  in  his  earliest  childhood,  was  Richard 
Henry  Lee,'  afterward  the  eminent  statesman  and  patriot. 
They  were  very  nearly  of  the  same  age,  Lee  being  one  month 
the  oldest.  I  have  before  me  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by 
each  when  they  were  nine  years  old,  and  which  are  supposed 
to  be  among  the  earliest,  perhaps  the  very  first,  epistles 
penned  by  these  illustrious  men.  They  were  sent  to  me  a 
few  years  ago,  by  a  son  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  (who  then 
possessed  the  originals),  and  are  as  follows : 

KICHAKD   HENRY   LEE   TO   GEOEGE   WASHINGTON. 

"  Pa  brought  me  two  pretty  books  full  of  pictures  he  got 
them  in  Alexandria  they  have  pictures  of  dogs  and  cats  and 

tigers  and  elefants  and  ever  so  .many  pretty  things  cousin  bids 

< 
me  send  you  one  of  them  it  has  a  picture  of  an  elefant  and  a 

little  indian  boy  on  his  back  like  uncle  jo's  sam  pa  says  if  I 
learn  my  tasks  good  he  will  let  uncle  jo  bring  me  to  sep  you 
will  you  ask  your  ma  to  let  you  come  to  see  me. 

"  Richard  henry  Lee." 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON'S  REPLY. 

"  Dear  Dickey  I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  pretty  pic- 
ture book  you  gave  me.  Sam  asked  me  to  show  him  the 


24:  MOUNT    VERNON 

pictures  and  I  showed  him  all  the  pictures  in  it ;  and  I  read 
to  him  how  the  tame  Elephant  took  care  of  the  master's  little 
boy,  and  put  him  on  his  back  and  would  not  let  any  body 
touch  his  master's  little  son.  I  can  read  three  or  four  pages 
sometimes  without  missing  a  word.  Ma  says  I  may  go  to  see 
you  and  stay  all  day  with  you  next  week  if  it  be  not  rainy. 
She  says  I  may  ride  my  pony  Hero  if  Uncle  Ben  will  go  with 
me  and  lead  Hero.  I  have  a  little  piece  of  poetry  about  the 
picture  book  you  gave  me,  but  I  mustnt  tell  you  wrho  wrote 

the  poetry.* 

"  G.  W.'s  compliments  to  E.  H.  L., 
And  likes  his  book  full  well, 
Henceforth  will  count  him  his  friend, 
And  hopes  many  happy  days  he  may  spend. 

"Your  good  friend, 

"  George  Washington. 

"  I  am  going  to  get  a  whip  top  soon,  and  you  may  see  it 
and  whip  it." 

Augustine  Washington  died  in  the  spring  of  1743,  when 
his  son  George  was  eleven  years  of  age,  and  by  his  last  will 
and  testament  bequeathed  his  estate  of  Hunting  Creek,  upon 
a  bay  and  stream  of  that  name,  near  Alexandria,  to  Lawrence 
Washington,  a  son  by  his  first  wife,  Jane  Butler.  It  was  a 


*  In  a  letter  to  me,  accompanying  the  two  juvenile  epistles,  Mr.  Lee  writes : 
"The  letter  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  was  written  by  himself,  and,  uncorrected,  was 
sent  by  him  to  his  boy-friend,  George  Washington.  The  poetical  effusion  was,  I 
have  heard,  written  by  a  Mr.  Howard,  a  gentleman  who  used  to  visit  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Washington." 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


25 


noble  domain  of  many  hundred  acres,  stretching  for  miles 
along  the  Potomac,  and  bordering  the  estates  of  the  Fairfaxes, 
Masons,  and  other  distinguished  families. 


LAWRENCE    WASHINGTON. 


Lawrence,  who  seems  to  have  inherited  the  military  spirit 
of  his  family,  had  lately  been  to  the  wars.  Admiral  Vernon, 
commander-in-chief  of  England's  navy  in  the  West  Indies,  had 
lately  chastised  the  Spaniards  for  their  depredations  upon 
British  commerce,  by  capturing  Porto  Bello,  on  the  isthmus 
of  Darien.  The  Spaniards  prepared  to  strike  an  avenging 
blow,  and  the  French  determined  to  help  them.  England 
and  her  colonies  were  aroused.  Four  regiments,  for  service 
in  the  West  Indies,  were  to  be  raised  in  the  American  col- 


MOUNT    V  K R  N 0  X 


onies ;  and  from  Massachusetts  to  the  Carolines,  the  fife  and 
drum  of  the  recruiting  sergeant  were  lieard.  Lawrence,  then 
a  spirited  young  man  of  twenty-two,  was  among  the  thou- 
sands who  caught  the  infection,  and  obtaining  a  captain's 


\ 


ADMIKAL    VERNON. 


commission,  he  embarked  for  the  West  Indies  in  1741,  with 
between  three  and  four  thousand  men  under  General  Went- 
worth.  That  officer  and  Admiral  Vernon  commanded  a  joint 
expedition  against  Carthagena,  in  South  America,  which  re- 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  27 

suited  iii  disaster.  According  to  the  best  authorities  not  less 
than  twenty  thousand  British  soldiers  and  seamen  perished, 
chiefly  from  a  fatal  sickness  that  prevailed,  especially  among 
the  troops  who  were  commanded  by  General  Wentworth. 
To  that  scourge  Thompson,  in  his  "  Summer,"  thus  touchingly 
alludes : 

'•  You,  gallant  Yernon,  saw 
The  miserable  scene ;  you,  pitying,  saw 
To  infant  weakness  sunk  the  warrior's  arm ; 
Saw  the  deep-racking  pang,  the  ghastly  form. 
The  lip  pale-quivering,  and  the  beamlcss  eye 
No  more  with  ardor  bright ;  you  heard  the  groans 
Of  agonizing  ships,  from  shore  to  shore ; 
Heard,  nightly  plung'd  amid  the  sullen  waves, 
The  frequent  corse — while  on  each  other  fixed, 
In  sad  presage,  the  blank  assistants  seemed, 
Silent,  to  ask,  whom  fate  would  next  demand." 


In  the  midst  of  that  terrible  pestilence  the  system  of  Law- 
rence Washington  received  those  seeds  of  fatal  disease  against 
whose  growth  it  struggled  manfully  for  ten  years,  and  then 
yielded. 

Lawrence  returned  home  in  the  autumn  of  1742,  the 
provincial  army  in  which  he  had  served  having  been  dis- 
banded, and  Admiral  Yernon  and  General  Wentworth  re- 
called to  England.  He  had  acquired  the  friendship  and 
confidence  of  both  those  officers.  For  several  years  he  kept 
up  a  correspondence  with  the  former,  and  received  from  him 
a  copy  of  a  medal  struck  in  commemoration  of  the  capture  of 
Porto  Bello  by  Admiral  Yernon.  This  was  preserved  at 
Mount  Yernon  until  Washington's  death,  and  is  probably  in 
possession  of  some  member  of  the  family.  The  only  speci- 


28  MOUNT    VERNON 

men  of  the  medal  I  have  ever  seen  is  in  my  own  possession, 
from  which  the  engraving  \vas  made. 


TUK    VEE.VON    MEDAL. 


Lawrence  intended  to  go  to  England,  join  the  regular  army, 
and  seek  preferment  therein ;  but  love  changed  his  resolution 
and  the  current  of  his  life,  for 

"  Love  rules  the  court  the  camp,  the  grove, 
And  man  below,  and  saints  above.'' 

Beautiful  Anne,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Honorable  Wil- 
liam Fairfax,  of  Fairfax  county,  became  the  object  of  his 
warm  attachment,  and  they  were  betrothed.  Their  nuptials 
were  about  to  be  celebrated  in  the  spring  of  1743,  when  a 
sudden  attack  of  gout  in  the  stomach  deprived  Lawrence  of 
his  father.  But  the  marriage  took  place  in  July.  All 
thoughts  of  military  life  as  a  profession  passed  from  the  mind 
of  Lawrence,  and,  taking  possession  of  his  Hunting  Creek 
estate,  he  erected  a  plain,  substantial  mansion  upon  the 
highest  eminence  along  the  Potomac  front  of  his  domain,  and 
named  the  spot  MOUNT  YERNON,  in  honor  of  the  gallant 
admiral. 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  29 

In  that  mansion  Lawrence  resided  until  his  death,  and  but 
little  change  was  made  in  its  appearance  from  the  time  when 
it  came  into  the  possession  of  his  brother  George  by  inheri- 
tance, until  the  close  of  the  Old  War  for  Independence.  It 
has  been  described  as  a  house  of  the  first  class  then  occupied 
by  thrifty  Virginia  planters;  two  stories  in  height,  with  a 
porch  in  front,  and  a  chimney  built  inside,  at  each  end,  con- 
trary to  the  prevailing  style.  It  stood  upon  a  most  lovely 
spot,  on  the  brow  of  a  gentle  slope  which  ended  at  a  thickly- 
wooded  precipitous  river  bank,  its  summit  nearly  one  hundred 
feet  above  the  water.  Before  it  swept  the  Potomac  with  a 
magnificent  curve,  its  broad  bosom  swarming  with  the  grace- 
ful swan,  the  gull,  the  wild  duck,  and  smaller  water-fowl; 
and  beyond  lay  the  green  fields  and  shadowy  forests  of  Mary- 
land. 

When  Lawrence  was  fairly  settled,  with  his  bride,  in  this 
new  and  pleasant  home,  little  George  was  a  frequent  and 
much-petted  visitor  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  half-brother 
loved  him  tenderly,  and  after  their  father's  death  he  took  a 
paternal  interest  in  all  his  concerns.  The  social  influences  to 
which  lie  was  subjected  were  of  the  highest  order.  The  Fair- 
faxes held  the  first  rank  in  wealth  and  social  position,  both 
in  England  and  in  Virginia;  and  the  father-in-law  of  Law- 
rence, who  occupied  a  beautiful  country  seat  not  far  from 
Mount  Vernon,  called  Belvoir,  was  a  man  of  distinction, 
having  served  as  an  officer  of  the  British  army  in  the  East 
and  West  Indies,  and  officiated  as  governor  of  New  Provi- 
dence, one  of  the  Bermudas.  He  now  managed  an  immense 
landed  estate  belonging  to  his  cousin,  Lord  Fairfax,  a  tall, 
gaunt,  rawboned,  near-sighted  man,  upon  whom  had  fallen 


30  MOUNT    VERNON 

the  snows  of  sixty  winters,  and  who,  made  shy  and  eccentric 
by  disappointed  love  in  early  life,  was  now  in  Yirginia,  and 
living  at  Belvoir,  but  secretly  resolving  to  go  over  the  Blue 
Mountains  of  the  "West,  and  make  his  home  in  the  deep 
wilderness,  away  from  the  haunts  of  men.  Thither  he  went 
a  few  years  later,  and  in  the  great  valley  of  Yirginia  took  up 
his  abode  in  a  lodge  at  a  spot  where  he  resolved  to  build  a 
manor-house,  in  the  midst  of  ten  thousand  acres  of  arable  and 
grazing  land,  call  it  Greenway  Court,  and  live,  a  solitary  lord 
over  a  vast  domain.  But  the  mansion  was  never  built,  and  in 
that  lodge  (which  remained  until  a  few  years  ago)  the  lord  of 
the  manor  lived  during  all  the  stormy  days  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  and  as  a  stanch  loyalist  throughout  the  struggles 
of  the  Americans  for  independence,  until  the  news  came  one 
day  that  his  young  friend  Washington  had  captured  Corn- 
wallis  and  all  his  army.  Then,  says  tradition,  he  called  to  his 
servant  and  said,  "  Come,  Joe,  carry  me  to  my  bed,  for  I'm 
sure  it's  high  time  for  me  to  die ! " 

"  Then  up  rose  Joe,  all  at  the  word, 

And  took  his  master's  arm, 
And  to  his  bed  he  softly  led 

The  lord  of  Greenway  farm. 
Then  thrice  he  called  on  Britain's  name, 

And  thrice  he  wept  full  sore, 
Then  sighed — '0  Lord,  thy  will  be  done!' 

And  word  spake  never  more." 

It  was  early  in  1782,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years,  that 
Lord  Fairfax  died  at  Greenway  Court,  loved  by  many  for  his 
generosity  and  benevolence. 

Lawrence  Washington  MTas  also  distinguished  for  his  wealth 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  31 

and  intelligence.  He  was  adjutant-general  of  his  district, 
with  the  rank  and  pay  of  major,  and  at  this  time  was  a  popu- 
lar member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses.  At  Mount 
Vernon  and  at  Belvoir  the  sprightly  boy  George,  who  was  a 
favorite  everywhere,  became  accustomed  to  the  refinements 
and  amenities  of  English  social  life,  in  its  best  phases,  and  this 
had  a  marked  influence  upon  his  future  character. 

There  were  other  influences  there  which  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  the  mind  of  the  thoughtful  boy.  Sometimes 
the  companions-in-arms  of  his  brother,  or  officers  from  some 
naval  vessel  that  came  into  the  Potomac,  would  be  guests  at 
Mount  Yernon,  and  perils  by  field  and  flood  would  be  related. 
In  these  narratives  Sir  William  Fairfax  often  joined,  and 
related  his  experience  in  the  far-off  Indies,  in  marches,  battles, 
sieges,  and  retreats.  These  fired  the  soul  of  young  Wash- 
ington with  longings  for  adventure,  and  accordingly,  we  find 
him,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  preparing  to  enter  the 
English  navy  as  a  midshipman,  a  warrant  having  been  pro- 
cured. His  brother  and  Mr.  Fairfax  encouraged  his  inclina- 
tion, and  his  mother's  reluctant  consent  was  obtained.  A 
vessel-of-war  was  lying  in  the  Potomac,  and  the  lad's  luggage 
was  on  board,  when  his  mother  received  the  following  letter 
from  her  brother,  in  England,  dated  Stratford-by-Bow,  19th 
May,  1747 : 

"  I  understand  that  you  are  advised  and  have  some  thoughts 
of  putting  your  son  George  to  sea.  I  think  he  had  better  be 
put  apprentice  to  a  tinker,  for  a  common  sailor  before  the 
mast  has  by  no  means  the  common  liberty  of  the  subject ;  for 
they  will  press  him  from  a  ship  where  he  has  fifty  shillings  a 


32  MOUNT    VERNON 

month  and  make  him  take  twenty-three,  and  cut,  and  slash, 
arid  use  him  like  a  negro,  or  rather  like  a  dog.  And,  as  to 
any  considerable  preferment  in  the  navy,  it  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, as  there  are  always  so  many  gaping  for  it  here  who 
have  interest,  and  he  has  none.  And  if  he  should  get  to  be 
master  of  a  Virginia  ship  (which  it  is  very  difficult  to  do),  a 
planter  that  has  three  or  four  hundred  acres  of  land  and  three 
or  four  slaves,  if  he  be  industrious,  may  live  more  comfort- 
ably, and  leave  his  family  in  better  bread,  than  such  a  master 
of  a  ship  can.  He  must  not  be  too 

hasty  to  be  rich,  but  go  on  gently  and  with  patience,  as  things 
will  naturally  go.  This  method,  without  aiming  at  being  a 
fine  gentleman  before  his  time,  will  carry  a  man  more  com- 
fortably and  surely  through  the  world  than  going  to  sea, 
unless  it  be  a  great  chance  indeed.  I  pray  God  keep  you  and 
yours. 

"  Your  loving  brother, 

"  JOSEPH  BALL." 

This  letter,  without  doubt,  made  the  mother  decide  to  act 
according  to  the  desire  of  her  heart,  for  already  a  friend  had 
written  to  Lawrence,  "  I  am  afraid  Mrs.  Washington  will  not 
keep  up  to  her  first  resolution.  *  *  I  find 

that  one  word  against  his  going  has  more  weight  than  ten  for 
it."  She  could  not  expose  her  son  to  the  hardships  and  perils 
of  the  British  navy,  so  vividly  portrayed  by  his  uncle.  Her 
consent  was  withdrawn,  and  George  Washington,  with  dis- 
appointed ambition,  returned  to  school,  fell  desperately  in 
love  with  a  "  lowland  beauty"  (who  reciprocated  not  his  pas- 
sion, but  became  the  mother  of  General  Henry  Lee),  indited 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  33 

sentimental  verses,  as  young  lovers  are  apt  to  do,  sighed  for  a 
time  in  aieat  unhappiness,  and  then  went  to  live  with  his 
brother  at  Mount  Yeinon,  in  partial  forgetf illness  that  he  had 
once  dreamed  that 

"  She  was  his  life, 

The  ocean  to  the  river  of  his  thoughts, 
"Which  terminated  all." 

Xow  it  was  that  young  Washington's  real  intimacy  with 
the  Fairfax  family  commenced,  and  an  attachment  was  formed 
between  himself  and  George  William  Fairfax,  his  senior  by 
six  or  seven  years,  who  had  just  brought  his  bride  and  her 
sister  to  Belvoir. 

Young  Washington's  heart  was  tender  and  susceptible,  and 
that  bride's  beautiful  sister  tried  its  constancy  to  his  first  love 
very  sorely.  To  his  young  friend  "  Robin,"  he  wrote :  "  My 
residence  is  at  present  at  his  lordship's,  where  I  might,  was  my 
beart  disengaged,  pass  my  time  very  pleasantly,  as  there  is  a 
very  agreeable  young  lady  lives  in  the  same  house  (Colonel 
George  Fairfax's  wife's  sister)  ;  but  as  that  is  only  adding  fuel 
to  fire,  it  makes  me  the  more  uneasy,  for  by  often  and  un- 
avoidably being  in  company  with  her,  revives  my  former 
passion  for  your  Lowland  Beauty;  whereas,  was  I  to  live 
more  retired  from  young  women,  I  might  in  some  measure 
alleviate  my  sorrows,  by  burying  that  chaste  and  troublesome 
passion  in  the  grave  of  oblivion."  Thus  wrote  George  Wash- 
ington before  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age. 

He  was  soon  taken  from  these  temptations.  He  was  a  tall, 
finely-formed,  athletic  youth,  and  Lord  Fairfax,  who  was  a 
passionate  fox-hunter,  though  old  in  years,  iavited  him  one  day 
3 


34  MOUNT    VERNON 

to  join  him  in  the  chase.  His  lordship  was  so  charmed  with 
his  young  friend's  boldness  in  the  saddle  and  enthusiastic 
pursuit  of  the  hounds  and  game,  that  he  took  him  to  his 
bosom  as  a  companion ;  and  many  a  hard  day's  ride  this 
roung  and  old  man  had  together  after  that,  in  the  forests  of 
Virginia. 

T  But  a  more  noble,  because  a  more  useful  pursuit  than  the 
mere  pleasures  of  the  chase,  now  offered  its  attractions  to  the 
lad.  Master  Williams  had  taught  him  the  mysteries  of  sur- 
veying, and  the  old  Lord  Fairfax,  having  observed  his  prac- 
tice of  the  art  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  his  extreme  care  and 
accuracy,  proposed  to  him  to  go  to  his  broad  possessions 
beyond  the  Blue  Kidge,  where  lawless  intruders  were  seated, 
and  prepare  his  domain  for  settlement,  by  running  boundary 
lines  between  large  sections.  The  lad  gladly  acceded  to  the 
proposition,  and  just  a  month  from  the  time  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  set  off  upon  the  arduous  and  responsible 
enterprise.  And  to  this  day  a  little  log-house,  near  Battle 
Town,  in  Clarke  county,  is  pointed  out  to  the  traveller,  wherein 
the  young  surveyor  lodged;;  and  in  the  same  county,  not  far 
from  Winchester,  stood,  a  few  years  ago,  the  lodge  of  Green- 
way  Court. 

In  the  wilderness,  around  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac, 
the  future  Leader  received  those  lessons  in  wood-craft — that 
personal  knowledge  of  the  country  and  its  dusky  inhabitants, 
and,  above  all,  that  spirit  of  self-reliance  which  was  ever  a 
most  marked  and  important  trait  in  his  character  —  which 
fitted  him  for  the  great  duties  of  a  commander. 

So  satisfactory  were  young  Washington's  services  on  that 
occasion,  that  he  received,  soon  after  his  return,  the  appoint- 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  35 

inent  of  public  surveyor,  and  upon  the  records  of  Culpepper 
county  may  be  read,  under  date  of  July  20th,  1749  (O.  S.), 
that  "  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  Gent.,  produced  a  commission  from 
the  President  and  Master  of  William  and  Mary  College,  ap- 
pointing him  to  be  surveyor  of  this  county,  which  was  read,  and 
thereupon  he  took  the  usual  oaths  to  his  Majesty's  person  and 
government,  and  took  and  subscribed  the  abjuration  oath  and 
test,  and  then  took  the  oath  of  a  surveyor,  according  to  law." 
Part  of  each  year  he  was  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  with  no 
other  instruments  than  compass  and  chain,  acquiring  strength 
of  limb  and  purpose  for  future  great  achievements,  and  put- 
ting money  in  his  purse  at  the  rate  of  a  doubloon  and  some- 
times six  pistoles  a  day.  These  expeditions  he  always  remem- 
bered as  the  greatest  pleasures  of  his  youth.  ")(, 

After  Washington's  death,  more  than  fifty  years  later,  the 
simple  compass  and  chain  and  other  mathematical  instru- 
ments of  his  earlier  and  later  years,  were  distributed  among 
his  family  connections,  but  only  one  of  them,  a  small  library 
instrument,  was  mentioned  in  his  will,  as  follows : 

"  To  David  Stuart  I  give  my  large  shaving  and  dressing 
table,  and  my  telescope" 

Dr.  Stuart  married  the  widow  of  John  Parke  Custis,  the 
son  of  Mrs.  Washington.  The  telescope  is  now  in  possession 
of  his  granddaughter,  wife  of  the  Reverend  A.  B.  Atkinson, 
of  Germantown,  Pennsylvania. 

And  now  another  and  more  extended  field  of  action  opened 
before  the  young  resident  at  Mount  Vernon.  Beneath  the 
roof  of  that  pleasant  mansion,  toward  the  spring  of  1751,  he 
received-  from  acting  Governor  Burwell  the  commission  of 
adjutant  of  his  military  district,  with  the  rank  and  pay  of 


36 


MOUNT    VEBNON 


major.  It  was  an  acceptable  honor.  His  military  spirit  was 
kindling;  for  it  had  been  fanned  by  old  Major  Muse,  a 
fellow-soldier  with  Lawrence  at  Carthagena,  who  was  a  fre- 


WASHINGTON'S  TELESCOPE. 


quent  and  welcome  guest  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  by  the  stout 
Dutchman,  Yan  Braam  (who  afterward  figured  ingloriously 
in  history),  who  had  taught  him  the  art  of  fencing. 

Young  Washington  had  scarcely  taken  his  initial  steps  in 
the  performance  of  his  new  duties  when  he  was  drawn  from 
public  life.  Dark  and  ominous  shadows  were  alternating 
with  the  sweet  domestic  sunlight  that  smiled  so  pleasantly 
around  Mount  Ycrnon.  They  were  cast  by  the  raven  wing 
of  the  angel  of  disease.  A  hectic  glow  was  upon  the  cheeks 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  37 

of  Lawrence  Washington,  and  his  physicians  advised  him  to 
go  to  the  more  genial  climate  of  Barbadoes  in  search  of 
health.  George  went  with  him.  It  was  in  bright  September, 
1751,  when  they  sailed,  and  in  dark  and  stormy  January  he 
returned  to  tell  the  anxious  wife  of  his  brother  that  her  loved 
one  must  go  to  Bermuda  in  the  spring ;  for  the  hectic  glow 
was  growing  brighter  and  his  manly  strength  less.  She  was 
preparing  to  join  him  there,  when  word  came  that  hope's 
promises  had  faded  forever,  and  that  her  husband  was  coming 
home  to  die.  He  came  when  the  bloom  of  May  was  upon  the 
land,  and  before  the  close  of  July  he  was  laid  in  the  grave,  at 
the  early  age  of  thirty-four  years,  leaving  a  wife  and  infant 
child. 

And  now  George  "Washington,  a  noble  youth  of  twenty, 
his  fine  manly  face  a  little  scarred  by  the  smallpox,  that 
seized  him  while  he  was  in  Barbadoes,  was  at  Mount  Yernon 
as  the  faithful  executor  of  the  last  will  and  testament  of  his 
brother.  He  was  also  prospective  heir  of  that  whole  beau- 
tiful domain,  Lawrence  having  left  it  to  his  daughter,  with 
the  proviso  that  in  the  event  of  her  death  that  and  other  lands 
should  become  the  property  of  George.  That  contingency 
soon  occurred.  Little  Jenny  died,  and  George  "Washington 
became  the  owner  of  Mount  Vernon.  Already,  by  the  will 
of  his  father,  he  was  the  proprietor  of  the  paternal  estate  on 
the  Rappahannock.  Now  he  ranked  among  the  wealthier  of 
the  planters  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

The  development  of  great  and  stirring  events  soon  called 
Washington  to  the  forests,  not  with  compass  and  chain,  and 
rield-book,  but  with  sword  and  pistol,  and  diplomatic  com- 
mission. Then  his  hero-life  began. 


38  MOUNT    VERNON 

For  a  thousand  years  a  national  feud  had  existed  between 
Gauls  and  Britons — French  and  English  ;  and  their  colonists, 
seated  a  little  way  apart  in  the  New  World,  cherished  this 
sentiment  of  utter  dislike.  It  was  intensified  by  jealousy ;  for 
they  were  competitors  for  a  prize  no  less  than  that  of  supreme 
dominion  in  America. 

The  English  were  planters  —  the  French  were  traders ;  and 
while  the  stations  of  the  latter  were  several  hundred  miles  in 
the  interior,  away  from  the  settlements  of  the  former,  on  the 
seaboard,  the  equanimity  of  both  parties  was  quite  undis- 
turbed. But  when,  after  the  capture  of  Louisburg  by  the 
English,  in  174:5,  the  French  adopted  vigorous  measures  for 
opposing  the  extension  of  British  power  in  America;  when 
they  built  strong  vessels  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario ;  made 
treaties  of  friendship  and  alliance  with  the  Delaware  and 
Shawnee  tribes  of  Indians ;  strengthened  their  fortress  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Niagara  River,  and  commenced  the  erection  of  a 
cordon  of  fortifications,  more  than  sixty  in  number,  between 
Montreal  and  New  Orleans,  the  English  were  aroused  to 
immediate  and  effective  action,  in  defence  of  the  territorial 
rights  conceded  to  them  in  their  ancient  charters.  By  virtue 
of  these,  they  claimed  absolute  dominion  westward  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  south  of  the  latitude  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Erie;  while  the  French'  claimed  a  title  to  all  the  territory 
watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  because  they 
had  made  the  first  explorations  and  settlements  in  that  region. 
The  claims  of  the  real  owner — the  Indian  —  were  not  consid- 
ered. It  was  a  significant  question,  asked  by  a  messenger 
sent  by  sachems  to  Mr.  Gist,  agent  of  the  English  Ohio  Com 
pany — "Where  is  the  Indian's  land?  The  English  claim  it 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  39 

all  on  one  side,  of  the  river,  the  French  on  the  other.  Where 
does  the  Indian's  land  lie  ? " 

At  length  English  traders  who  went  to  the  Ohio  region 
were  driven  away  or  imprisoned  by  the  French,  and  the  latter 
commenced  building  forts  south  of  Lake  Erie.  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  thought  these  proceedings  rather  in- 
solent, arid  he  sent  Major  Washington,  then  less  than  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  to  carry  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  the 
French  commander  in  that  region. 

Seven  persons  besides  Major  "Washington  composed  the 
expedition,  and  among  them  was  Van  Braam,  "Washington's 
Dutch  fencing-master,  who  could  speak  French  fluently,  and 
went  as  interpreter.  They  assembled  at  Williamsburg,  and 
made  every  preparation  for  a  journey  of  several  hundred 
miles  on  horseback,  through  an  unbroken  wilderness.  They 
were  furnished  by  the  governor  with  horses,  pack-saddles, 
tent,  arms,  ammunition,  a  leathern  camp-chest,  provisions, 


PACK-SADDLE.  LEATHERN   CAMP-CHESP. 

and  every  other  necessary,  and  on  the  31st  of  October,  1753, 
departed  for  the  head-waters  of  the  Ohio.     They  made  a  most 


ttO  MOUNT    VERNON 

perilous  journey,  and,  after  an  absence  of  seven  weeks,  Major 
"Washington  again  stood  in  the  presence  of  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  his  mission  fulfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Two 
days  afterward  he  returned,  first  to  his  mother's  home,  near 
Fredericksburg,  then  to  Belvoir,  and  finally  to  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  spent  a  greater  portion  of  the  winter  and  spring  of 

1754:. 

But  Major  Washington  was  not  allowed  to  remain  long  in 
seclusion.  In  the  late  expedition  he  had  exhibited  qualities 
too  great  and  useful  to  be  suffered  to  repose.  War  with  the 
French  appeared  inevitable.  The  latter  continued  their  hos- 
tile preparations  in  the  Ohio  region,  and  a  colonial  military 
force,  to  be  sent  thither,  was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1754:. 
Colonel  Joshua  Fry  was  appointed  its  commander,  and  Major 
Washington  his  lieutenant. 

For  a  while  Mount  Yernon  appeared  like  a  recruiting 
station.  At  length  all  preparations  were  completed,  and  on 
the  2d  of  April,  Major  Washington,  with  the  advanced  corps, 
marched  from  Alexandria  toward  the  Ohio.  After  a  toilsome 
journey  of  eighteen  days,  over  the  Blue  Ridge,  they  reached 
the  mouth  of  Wills'  Creek  (now  Cumberland),  where  Wash- 
ington, for  the  first  time,  occupied  a  house  for  his  head- 
quarters as  a  military  commander.  It  was  the  dwelling  of  a 
pioneer.  It  has  long  since  passed  away,  but  the  pencil  has 
preserved  its  features,  and  now,  at  the  distance  of  time  of 
more  than  a  hundred  years,  we  may  look  upon  the  portrait  of 
WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  HEAD-QUARTERS. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  trace  the  events  of  Washington's 
life  in  their  consecutive  order.  We  propose  to  give  delinea- 
tions of  only  such  as  held  intimate  relations  with  his  beautiful 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


41 


WASHINGTON  S    FIRST   IIEAD-Q0ARTEUS. 


home  on  the  Potomac,  which,  for  more  than  forty  years,  was 
to  him  the  dearest  spot  on  the  earth. 

During  the  war  between  the  French  and  English,  that  com- 
menced in  earnest  in  1755,  when  Braddock  came  to  America 
as  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces,  until  the  close  of 
the  campaign  of  1758,  when  the  French  and  their  dusky 
allies  were  driven  from  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  Washington 
was  almost  continually  in  the  public  service,  and  spent  but 
little  time  at  Mount  Yernon.  lie  had  been  promoted  to 
Colonel  in  175-i,  but,  on  account  of  new  military  arrange- 
ments by  the  blundering,  wrong-headed,  narrow-minded  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie,  he  had  left  the  service  with  disgust,  and 
retired  to  the  quiet  of  private  life  at  Mount  Vernon,  with  a 
determination  to  spend  his  life  there  in  the  pursuits  of  agricul- 
ture— pursuits  which  he  always  passionately  loved,  and 
longed  for  most  earnestly  when  away  from  them. 

General  Braddock,  an.  Irish  officer  of  forty  years'  experience 


MOUNT     V  E  R  N  0  X 


in  the  army,  came  to  America  with  two  regiments  early  in 
1758,  and  called  a  council  of  royal  governors  at  Alexandria, 
to  arrange  a  regular  campaign  against  the  French.  Brad- 
dock  soon  heard,  from  every  lip,  encomiums  of  the  character 
of  Colonel  Washington,  and  he  invited  him  to  Alexandria. 
Mount  Yerrion  was  only  a  little  more  than  an  hour's  ride 
distant,  and  Washington,  whose  military  ardor  was  again 
aroused  by  preparations  for  conflict,  was  swift  to  obey  the 
summons.  Prom  Mount  Yernon  he  had  looked  upon  the 
ships-of-war  and  transports  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Potomac 

that  bore  Braddock  and  his 
troops,  and  the  thought  that  only 
a  few  miles  from  his  dwelling, 
preparations  were  in  progress  for 
a  brilliant  campaign,  under  the 
command  of  one  of  the  most  ex- 
perienced generals  of  the  British 
army,  stirred  the  very  depths  of 
his  soul,  and  made  him  yearn  to 
go  again  to  the  field. 

At  the  residence  of  Jonathan 
Carey,  where  Braddock  made  his 
head-quarters,  the  young  provin- 
cial colonel  and  the  veteran  gen- 
eral first  met,  at  the  close  of 
March.  Carey's  was  then  the 
finest  house  in  Alexandria,  sur- 

THE  CAKKT   HOUSB  IN   1859- 

rounded  by   a  noble   lawn   that 

was  shaded  by  lofty  forest  trees,  and  its  gardens  extending 
down  a  gentle  slope  to  the  shore  of  the  Potomac.  Now  it 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  43 

stands  within  the  city,  hemmed  in  by  buildings  and  paved 
streets,  and  forms  a  part  of  Newton's  Hotel.  The  convention 
of  governors  met  in  it  in  April,  and  there  the  ensuing  cam- 
paign was  planned. 

Braddock  invited  Washington  to  join  his  military  family,  as 
aid,  with  the  rank  he  had  lately  borne.  The  mother  of  the 
young  colonel  hastened  to  Mount  Yernon  to  persuade  him  not 
to  accept  it.  She  urged  the  claims  of  his  and  her  own  affairs 
upon  his  attention,  as  strong  reasons  for  him  not  to  enter  the 
army  again,  and  for  two  days  she  held  his  decision  in  abey- 
ance, for  filial  obedience  was  one  of  the  strongest  sentiments 
of  Washington's  nature.  But  it  was  not  strong  enough  to 
restrain  him  on  this  occasion  —  or,  rather,  God's  will  must  be 
obeyed  —  and  he  left  Mount  Yernon  for  Alexandria,  after  her 
departure  for  the  Rappahannoek,  and  was  welcomed  into 
Braddock's  family  with  joy  by  Captains  Orme  and  Morris. 

On  the  9th  of  July  following  we  behold  him  upon  the 
bloody  field  of  the  Monongahela,  shielded  by  God's  provi- 
dence, untouched  by  ball  or  bayonet,  arrow  or  javelin,  while 
carnage  was  laying  its  scores  of  victims  around  him,  and  his 
commander  was  borne  mortally  wounded  from  the  field — we 
behold  him  riding  from  point  to  point,  bringing  order  out  of 
confusion,  and  leading  away  from  that  accldama  the  shattered 
battalions  of  the  proud  army  of  the  morning  to  a  place  of 
safety  and  repose.  Then  he  returned  to  Mount  Yernon,  weak 
from  recent  sickness  and  exposure  in  the  field.  In  his  little 
library  there  he  wrote  to  his  brother,  then  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  at  Williamsburg,  and  thus  summed  up 
his  military  career : 

"  I  was  employed  to  go  a  journey  in  the  winter,  when  1 


4:4  MOUNT     VERNON 

believe  few  or  none  would  have  undertaken  it,  and  what  did 
I  get  by  it?  My  expenses  borne!  I  was  then  appointed, 
with  trifling  pay,  to  conduct  a  handful  of  men  to  the  Ohio. 
What  did  I  get  by  that?  Why,  after  putting  myself  to  a 
considerable  expense  in  equipping  and  providing  necessaries 
for  the  campaign,  I  went  out,  was  soundly  beaten,  and  lost 
all !  Came  in,  and  had  my  commission  taken  from  me  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  my  command  reduced,  under  pretence  of  an 
order  from  home.  I  then  went  out  a  volunteer  with  General 
Braddock,  and  lost  all  my  horses,  and  many  other  things. 
But  this  being  a  voluntary  act,  I  ought  not  to  have  mentioned 
it ;  nor  should  I  have  done  it,  were  it  not  to  show  that  I  have 
been  on  the  losing  order  ever  since  I  entered  the  service, 
which  is  now  nearly  two  years." 

But  what  wonderful  and  necessary  lessons  for  the  future 
had  Washington  learned  during  that  time ! 

Mount  Vernon  saw  but  little  of  its  master  during  the  next 
four  years ;  for  the  flame  of  war  lighted  up  the  land  from 
Acadia,  and  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  away  down  to  the  beau- 
tiful Cherokee  country,  in  Western  Georgia  and  Carolina,  and 
Washington  was  most  of  the  time  in  camp,  except  from 
December,  1757,  until  March,  1758,  when  he  was  an  invalid 
at  home. 

In  February,  1756,  we  find  him,  accompanied  by  two  aides, 
journeying  to  Boston,  to  confer  with  General  Shirley  con- 
cerning military  rank  in  Virginia.  Little  did  he  then  think 
that  twenty  years  later  he  would  again  be  there  directing  a 
siege  against  the  New  England  capital,  in  command  of  rebels 
against  the  crown  he  was  then  serving ! 

We  find  him  lingering  in  ]STew  York,  on  his  return.     The 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


45 


young  soldier,  apparently  invincible  to  the  mortal  weapons 
of  war,  was  sorely  smitten  there  by  the  "  sly  archer"  concealed 
in  the  bright  eyes,  blooming  cheeks,  and  winning  ways  of 
Mary  Phillipse,  the  heiress  of  a  broad  domain,  stretching 
many  a  mile  along  the  Hudson.  The  young  soldier  lingered 


MARY   PHILLIPSK. 


in  her  presence  as  long  as  duty  would  permit,  and  he  would 
fain  have  carried  her  with  him  to  Virginia  as  a  bride,  but  his 
natural  diffidence  kept  the  momentous  question  unspoken  in 
his  heart,  and  his  fellow  aide-de-camp  in  Braddock's  family, 
Roger  Morris,  bore  away  the  prize.  Mary  Phillipse  did  not 
become  the  mistress  of  Mount  Yernon,  but  reigned,  as  beau- 
teous queen,  in  a  more  stately  mansion  on  the  bank  of  the 


46  MOUNT     VERNON 

Harlem  River,  where,  twenty  years  later,  Washington,  as 
leader  of  a  host  of  Americans,  in  arms  against  the  king,  held 
his  head-quarters,  the  master  and  mistress  of  the  mansion 
being  proscribed  as  "  enemies  to  their  country  ! " 


MORRIS  S   HOUSE. 


But,  three  years  later,  there  was  a  presiding  angel  over  the 
mansion  on  Mount  Yernon.  Meanwhile  the  tramp  of  steeds, 
the  clangor  of  arms,  and  every  sound  betokening  warlike  prep- 
arations, were  heard  there,  and  the  decisive  campaign  of  1758 
was  opened. 

"Washington  went  to  the  camp  as  soon  as  his  health  would 
permit ;  and  toward  Fort  du  Quesne,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
forks  of  the  Ohio,  quite  a  large  army  made  its  way.  Wasting 
delays  and. weary  marches  consumed  the  summer  time;  and 
late  in  autumn,  having  traversed  deep  forests  and  rugged 
mountains,  the  invading  army  found  rest,  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  Colonel  Washington,  with  an  advanced  guard,  took 
possession  of  all  that  was  left  of  Fort  du  Quesne,  where  Pitts- 
burg  now  stands.  It  had  been  the  prize  for  which  Braddock 
contended  —  the  nest  from  which  came  the  vultures  that 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  47 

preyed  upon  the  frontier  settlements.  Over  its  smoking  ruins 
the  red  cross  of  St.  George  was  unfurled,  where  for  four  years 
had  waved  the  lilies  of  France.  Then  French  dominion 
ceased  southward  of  Lake  Erie ;  and  the  young  hero,  whose 
wisdom,  skill,  and  valor  had  contributed  so  largely  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  that  result,  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  sick 
and  wearied,  fully  resolved  to  leave  the  army  forever,  and 
seek  repose  and  happiness,  usefulness  and  fair  fame,  in  do- 
mestic and  civil  life. 

For  these  Washington  was  now  prepared.  During  the 
previous  spring,  while  on  his  way  to  Williamsburg,  from  his 
camp  at  Winchester,  he  had  been  taught  to  love  one  of  the 
best  of  Virginia's  daughters ;  and  in  the  autumn,  while  he 
was  making  his  toilsome  march  toward  Fort  du  Quesne, 
he  had  been  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses. 

The  story  of  Washington's  love  and  courtship  is  simple,  yet 
full  of  the  elements  of  romance.  No  words  can  better  tell 
that  story  than  those  used  for  the  purpose,  in  after  years,  by  a 
grandson  of  the  lady.*  "  It  was  in  1758,"  he  says,  "  that 
Washington,  attired  in  military  undress,  and  attended  by  a 
body  servant,  tall  and  militaire  as  his  chief,  was  crossing 
William's  Ferry  over  the  Pamunkey  River,  a  branch  of  the 
York  River.  On  the  boat  touching  the  southern  or  New 
Kent  side,  the  soldier's  progress  was  arrested  by  one  of  those 
personages  who  give  the  beau  ideal  of  the  Virginia  gentleman 
of  the  old  regime  —  the  very  soul  of  kindliness  and  hospitality. 


*  The  late  George  "Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  adopted  son  of  "Washington. 
See  Custis's  Recollections  of  Washington.     New  York,  1859. 


48  MOUNT     VERNON 

It  was  in  vain  the  soldier  urged  his  business  at  Williamsburg, 
important  communications  to  the  governor,  etc.  Mr.  Cham- 
berlayne,  on  whose  domain  the  militaire  had  just  landed, 
would  hear  of  no  excuse.  Colonel  Washington's  was  a  name 
and  character  so  dear  to  all  the  Virginians  that  his  passing  by 
one  of  the  old  castles  of  the  Dominion  without  calling  and 
partaking  of  the  hospitalities  of  the  host  was  entirely  out  of 
the  question. 

"The  colonel,  however,  did  not  surrender  at  discretion,  but 
stoutly  maintained  his  ground,  till  Chamberlayne  bringing  up 
his  reserve,  in  the  intimation  that  he  would  introduce  his 
Mend  to  a  young  and  charming  widow,  then  beneath  his  roof, 
the  soldier  capitulated,  on  condition  that  he  should  dine  — 
only  dine — and  then,  by  pressing  his  charger  and  borrowing 
of  the  night,  he  would  reach  Williamsburg  before  his  Excel- 
lency could  shake  off  his  morning  slumbers.  Orders  were 
accordingly  issued  to  Bishop,  the  Colonel's  body -servant  and 
faithful  follower,  who,  together  with  the  fine  English  charger, 
had  been  bequeathed  by  the  dying  Braddock  to  Major  Wash- 
ington, on  the  famed  and  fatal  field  of  the  Monongahela. 
Bishop,  bred  in  the  school  of  European  discipline,  raised  his 
hand  to  his  cap,  as  much  as  to  say,  '  Your  honor's  orders  shall 
be  obeyed.' 

"The  colonel  now  proceeded  to  the  mansion,  and  was  intro- 
duced to  various  guests  (for  when  was  a  Virginian  domicile 
of  the  olden  time  without  guests?)  and,  above  all,  to  the 
charming  widow.  Tradition  relates  that  they  were  mutually 
pleased  on  this  their  first  interview.  Nor  is  it  remarkable. 
They  were  of  an  age  when  impressions  are  strongest.  The 
lady  was  fair  to  behold,  of  fascinating  manners,  and  splen- 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  49 

didly  endowed  with  worldly  benefits.      The  hero,  fresh  from 
his  early  fields,  redolent  of  fame,  and  with  a  form  on  which 

"  '  Every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man.' 

u  The  morning  passed  pleasantly  away  ;  evening  came,  with 
Bishop,  true  to  his  orders  and  firm  at  his  post,  holding  the 
favorite  charger  with  one  hand,  while  the  other  was  waiting 
to  offer  the  ready  stirrup. 

"  The  sun  sank  in  the  horizon,  and  yet  the  colonel  appeared 
not.  And  then  the  old  soldier  marvelled  at  his  chief's  delay. 
k'Twas  strange,  'twas  passing  strange — surely  he  was  not 
wont  to  be  a  single  moment  behind  his  appointments,  for  he 
was  the  most  punctual  of  all  punctual  men.'  Meantime,  the 
host  enjoyed  the  scene  of  the  veteran  on  duty  at  the  gate, 
while  the  colonel  was  so  agreeably  employed  in  the  parlor, 
and  proclaiming  that  no  guest  ever  left  his  house  after  sunset, 
his  military  visitor  was,  without  much  difficulty,  persuaded  to 
order  Bishop  to  put  up  the  horses  for  the  night. 

"  The  sun  rode  high  in  the  heavens  the  ensuing  day,  when 
the  enamored  soldier  pressed  with  his  spur  his  charger's  side, 
and  speeded  on  his  way  to  the  seat  of  government,  where, 
having  dispatched  his  public  business,  he  retraced  his  steps, 
and,  at  the  White  House,  a  marriage  engagement  took  place." 

That  "  charming  widow"  was  Martha  Custis,  daughter  of 
John  Dandridge,  whose  husband,  Daniel  Parke  Custis,  had 
been  dead  between  two  and  three  years.  He  had  left  her 
with  two  young  children  and  a  very  large  fortune  in  lands 
and  money,  the  legal  evidence  of  which,  in  the  form  of  deeds, 
mortgages,  bonds,  and  certificates  of  deposit  in  the  Bank  of 


50 


MOUNT     VERNON 


DANIEL    PARKS   CUSTIS. 


England,  were  contained  in  a  strong  iron  box,  which  is  care- 
fully preserved  by  her  de- 
scendants, at  their  beau- 
tiful seat  at  Arlington, 
on  the  Potomac,  opposite 
Washington  City. 

"And  much,"  continues 
the  writer  we  have  quoted, 
"hath  the  biographer 
heard  of  that  marriage  of 

Washington,  from   the   gray  haired   domestics  who  waited   at 

the  board  where  love  made  the  feast  and  the  Virginia  colonel 

was  the  guest. 


MRS.    COSTIS  S    IRON    CHEST. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  M 

" '  And  so  you  remember,'  I  said  to  old  Cully,  my  grand- 
mother's servant,  when  in  his  hundredth  year — '  and  so  you 
remember  when  Colonel  Washington  came  a-courting  your 
young  mistress?' 

'"Ay,  master,  that  I  do,'  said  Cully.  'Great  times,  sir, 
great  times  —  shall  never  see  the  like  again.' 

"  '  And  Washington  looked  something  like  a  man  —  a  proper 
man,  hejr,  Cully?' 

"  '  Never  seed  the  like,  sir — never  the  like  of  him,  though  1 
have  seen  many  in  my  day  —  so  tall,  so  straight,  and  then  he 
sat  on  a  horse  and  rode  with  such  an  air !  Ah,  sir,  he  was 
like  no  one  else !  Many  of  the  grandest  gentlemen,  in  the 
gold  lace,  were  at  the  wedding ;  but  none  looked  like  the  man 
himself.' " 

The  marriage  of  Washington  occurred  on  the  17th  of 
January,  (6th  Old  Style),  1759,  at  the  "White  House,"  the 
residence  of  his  bride,  in  New  Kent  county,  not  far  from 
Williamsburg.  The  officiating  clergyman  was  the  Reverend 
David  Mossom,  who,  for  forty  years  was  rector  of  the  neigh- 
boring parish  of  St.  Peter's.  Washington  was  then  an  attend- 
ant member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  for  three  months, 
while  official  duties  detained  him  at  Williamsburg,  he  resided 
at  the  "  White  House."  When  the  session  had  ended,  lie 
returned  to  Mount  Yernon,  taking  with  him  the  future  mis- 
tress of  the  mansion,  and  her  two  children,  John  Parke  and 
Martha  Parke  Custis. 

Then  commenced  that  sweet  domestic  life  at  Mount  Vernon, 
which  always  possessed  a  powerful  charm  for  its  illustrious 
owner.  He  early  wrote  to  his  friend,  Richard  Washington,  in 
London : 


MOUNT     V  K  R N  0  N 


MES.    WASHINGTON  S   CHILDREN. 


"  I  am  now,  1  believe,  fixed  in  this  seat  with  an  agreeable 
partner  for  life,  and  I  hope  to  find  more  happiness  in  retire- 
ment than  I  ever  experienced  in  the  wide  and  bustling  world." 
He  was  then  seven-and-twenty  years  of  age,  and  over  six  feet 
two  inches  in  height,  and  admirably  proportioned.  His  hair 
was  a  rich  dark-brown  ;  his  eyes  grayish-blue  and  expressive  of 
deep  thought ;  his  complexion  florid,  and  his  features  regular 
and  rather  heavy. 

Washington's  wife  was  three  months  younger  than  himself. 
She  was  a  small,  plump,  elegantly  formed  woman.  Her  eyes 
were  dark  and  expressive  of  the  most  kindly  good  nature ;  her 
complexion  fair  ;  her  features  beautiful ;  and  her  whole  face 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


beamed  with  intelligence.  Her  temper,  though  quick,  was 
sweet  and  placable,  and  her  manners  were  extremely  winning. 
She  was  full  of  life,  loved  the  society  of  her  friends,  always 


MIIS.    WASHINGTON    AT   THE   TIME    OP    HER    MARRIAGE. 


dressed  with  a  scrupulous  regard  to  the  requirements  of  the 
best  fashions  of  the  day,  and  was,  in  every  respect,  a  brilliant 
member  of  the  social  circles  which,  before  the  revolution, 
composed  the  vice-regal  court  at  the  old  Virginia  capital. 

Washington,  at  this  time,  possessed  an  ample  fortune,  in- 
dependent of  that  of  his  wife.  His  estate  of  Mount  Vernon 
he  described  as  most  pleasantly  situated  in  "  a  high,  healthy 
country ;  in  a  latitude  between  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold, 
on  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the'  world — a  river  well  stocked 
with  various  kinds  of  fish  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  in 


54  MOUNT     VKRNOX 

the  spring  with  shad,  herrings,  bass,  carp,  sturgeon,  etc.,  in 
abundance.  The  borders  of  the  estate,"  he  continued,  "  are 
washed  by  more  than  ten  miles  of  tide- water ;  several  valuable 
fisheries  appertain  to  it ;  the  whole  shore,  in  fact,  is  one  entire 
fishery."  Such  was  the  delightful  home  to  which  Washington 
took  his  bride  in  the  spring  of  1759. 

At  that  time,  almost  every  manufactured  article  for  domestic 
use,  was  imported  from  England.  It  is  amusing  and  interest- 
ing to  observe  the  difference  in  the  items  of  orders  sent  out  to 
London  from  Mount  Yernon  within  the  space  of  two  years. 
First,  as  a  bachelor,  Washington  orders : 

"Five  pieces  of  Irish  Linnen. 

1  piece  finest  Cambric. 

2  pr.  fine  worked  ruffles,  at  20*.  a  pr. 
2  setts  compleat  shoe  brushes. 

^  doz.  pr.  thread  hose,  at  5*. 

1  compleat  Saddle  and  Bridle,  and  1  sett  Holster  caps,  and 
Housing  of  fine  Blue  Cloth  with  a  small  edging  of  Em- 
broidering round  them. 

As  much  of  the  best  superfine  blue  Cotton  Velvet  as  will 
make  a  Coat,  Waistcoat,  and  Breeches  for  a  Tall  Man, 
with  a  fine  silk  button  to  suit  it,  and  all  other  neces- 
sary trimmings  and  linings,  together  with  garters  for  the 

Breeches. 

t 

6  prs.  of  the  very  neatest  shoes,  viz  :  2  pr.  double  channelled 
pumps ;  two  pr.  turned  ditto,  and  two  pair  stitched  shoes, 
to  be  made  by  one  Didsbury  over  Colonel  Boiler's  last, 
but  to  be  a  little  wider  over  the  instep. 

C  prs.  gloves,  3  pairs  of  which  to  be  proper  for  riding,  and 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  5o 

to   have   slit   tops ;    the   whole   larger   than   the    middle 

size." 

A  little  later,  in  apparent  expectation  of  a  wife  at  some 
future  day,  the  careful  bachelor  prepares  the  mansion  for  her 
reception.  In  September,  1757,  he  wrote  to  Richard  Wash- 
ington, saying: 

"  Be  pleased,  over  and  above  what  I  have  wrote  for  in  a 
letter  of  the  13th  of  April,  to  send  me  1  doz.  Strong  Chairs,  of 


CHAIKS   ONCIS    AT    MOUNT   VKKNON, 


about  15  shillings  a  piece,  the  bottoms  to  be  exactly  made  by 
the  enclosed  dimensions,  and  of  three  different  colors  to  suit  the 
paper  of  three  of  the  bed-chambers,  also  wrote  for  in  my  last. 
I  must  acquaint  you,  sir,  with  the  reason  of  this  request.  1 
have  one  dozen  chairs  that  were  made  in  the  country ;  neat, 


56  MOUNT     VERNON 

but  too  weak  for  common  sitting.  I  therefore  propose  to  take 
the  bottoms  out  of  those  and  put  them  into  these  now  ordered, 
while  the  bottoms  which  you  send  will  do  for  the  former,  and 
furnish  the  chambers.  For  this  reason  the  workmen  must  be 
very  exact,  neither  making  the  bottoms  larger  nor  smaller  than 
the  dimensions,  otherwise  the  change  can't  be  made.  Be  kind 
enough  to  give  directions  that  these  chairs,  equally  with  the 
others  and 'the  tables,  be  carefully  packed  and  stowed.  "With- 
out this  caution,  they  are  liable  to  infinite  damage." 

In  1759  (the  year  of  Washington's  marriage),  we  have 
the  order  of  a  husband  instead  of  that  of  a  bachelor.  The 
items  are  quite  different,  and  were  evidently  dictated  by  the 
sweet  little  wife,  leaning  lovingly,  perhaps,  upon  the  broad 
shoulder  of  her  noble  lord.  He  directs  his  friend  in  London  to 
send  him : 

u  1  Salmon-colored  Tabby  [velvet]  of  the  enclosed  pattern, 
with  Sattin  flowers ;  to  be  made  in  a  sack  and  coat. 

1  Cap,  Handkerchief,  and  Tucker  [a  piece  of  lace  or  linen 
pinned  to  the  top  of  women's  stays]  and  Euffles,  to  be 
made  of  Brussells  lace  or  Point,  proper  to  be  worn  with 
the  above  negligee ;  to  cost  £20. 

1  piece  Bag  Holland,  at  6*.  a  yard. 

2  fine  flowered  Lawn  Aprons. 
2  double  handkerchiefs. 

2  prs.  women's  white  silk  hose. 

6  pr.  fine  cotton  do. 

4  pr  Thread  do.  four  threaded. 

1  p.  black  and  1  pr.  white  Sattin  Shoes  of  the  smallest  fives. 

4  pr  Callimanco  do. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  57 

1  fashionable  Hat  or  Bonnet, 
6  p.  Women's  best  Kid  Gloves. 

0  pr.  ditto  mitts. 

£  doz.  Knots  and  Breast  Knots. 

1  doz.  round  Silk  stay  laces. 
1  black  Mask. 

1  doz  most  fashionable  Cambrick  Pocket  Handkerchiefs. 

2  pr.  neat  Small  Scissors. 
1  Ib  Sewing  Silk,  shaded. 

Real  Miniken   pins   and   hair   pins,  and  4  pieces  Binding 

Tape. 
Six  Ibs  perfumed  powder. 

3  Ibs  best  Scotch  Snuff. 

3  Ibs  best  Yiolette  Strasbourg  Snuff. 

1  pr  narrow  white  Sattin  ribbon,  pearl  e  Ige. 
A  puckered  petticoat  of  a  fashionable  color. 
A  silver  Tabby  velvet  petticoat. 

2  handsome  breast  flowers. 
Hair  pins — sugar  candy. 

2  pr.  small  silver  Ear-rings  for  servants. 

8  Ibs  Starch. 

2  Ibs  Powdered  Blue. 

2  oz.  Coventry  Thread,  one  of  which  to  be  very  fine. 

1  case  of  Pickles  to  consist  of  Anchovies,  Capers,  Olives. 

Salad  Oil,  and  one  bottle  Ind'an  Mangoes. 
1  Large  Cheshire  Cheese. 

4  Ibs  Green  Tea. 

10  gross  best  Corks. 

25  Ibs  best  jar  Raisins. 

25  Ibs  Almonds,  in  the  Shell. 


58  MOUNT    VERNON 

• 

1  hhd  best  Porter. 

10  loaves  double  and  10  single  refined  Sugar. 
12  Ibs  best  mustard. 

2  doz.  Jack's  best  playing  cards. 

3  gallons  of  Rhenish  in  bottles. 
100  Ibs  white  Biscuit. 

1£  doz.  Bell  glasses  for  Garden. 

1  more  Window  Curtain  and  Cornice. 

2  more  Chair  bottoms,  such  as  were  written  for  in  a  former 
invoice." 


Such  were  Washington's  orders  for  his  house  at  that  time. 
These  items  were  followed  by  others  pertaining  to  his  farming 
operations  and  the  servants  upon  his  estate ;  and  also  medi- 
cines for  family  use. 

And  now,  the  mansion  at  Mount  Vernon  having  an  accom- 
plished mistress  to  preside  over  its  hospitalities,  and  to  receive 
and  entertain  some  of  the  best  society  of  Virginia,  articles 
of  taste  were  introduced  to  embellish  it.  In  the  handwriting 
of  the  master  we  find  the  duplicate  of  an  order,  as  follows : 

"  DIRECTIONS  FOR  THE  BUSTS. — One  of  Alexander  the  Great ; 
another  of  Julius  Caesar ;  another  of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden ; 
and  a  fourth  of  the  King  of  Prussia. 

"  N.  B.  These  are  not  to  exceed  fifteen  inches  in  height,  nor 
ten  in  width. 

"2  other  Busts  of  Prince  Eugene  and  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough,  somewhat  smaller. 

"  2  Wild  Beasts,  not  to  exceed  twelve  inches  in  height^  nor 
eighteen  in  length. 

"  Sundry  ornaments  for  Chimney-piece." 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  59 

These  items  indicate  the  military  taste  of  Washington  at  that 
time,  and  show  his  reverence  for  the  great  military  leaders  of 
whom  history  had  made  her  enduring  records.  Many  years 
later,  when  Washington  had  become  as  renowned  as  they,  the 
Great  Frederick  sent  him  a  portrait  of  himself,  accompanied 
by  the  remarkable  words — "  From  the  Oldest  General  in  Eu- 
rope to  the  Greatest  General  in  the  World  !" 

Two  years  after  his  marriage,  Washington  sent  the  following 
order  to  Robert  Carey,  Esq.,  in  London : 

"FoK  MASTER  CUSTIS,  8  YEARS  OLD. 

"  1  handsome  suit  of  Winter  Cloathes. 

A  suit  of  Summer  ditto,  very  light. 

2  pieces  Nankeens  with  trimmings. 

1  silver  laced  hat. 

6  pair  fine  Cotton  Stockings. 

1  pr  fine  worsted  ditto. 

4  pr.  Strong  Shoes. 

1  pr.  neat  Pumps. 

1  p.  gloves. 

2  hair  bags. 

1  piece  ribbon  for  ditto. 

1  p.  silver  Shoe  and  Knee  buckles. 

1  p.  Sleeve  buttons. 

A  Small  Bible  neatly  bound  in  Turkey,  and  John  Parke 

Custis  wrote  in  gilt  letters  on  the  inside  of  the  cover. 
A  neat  Small  Prayer  Book  bound  as  above,  with  John  Parke 

Custis,  as  above. 
1  piece  Irish  linen,  at  ~L#. 

3  pr  shoes  for  a  boy  14  y'rs  old. 


MOUNT     VERNON 


CDSTIS  8  ARMS. 


3  p.  Coarse  Stockings  for  do. 
2  pr  "Women's  Strong  Shoes,  size  8. 
2  p'r  Stockings  for  do. 
50  ells  Osnaburgs. 

A  suit  of  livery  Cloathes  for  the  above 
boy  of  14.     A  hat  for  do. 
"XoTK. — Let  the  livery  be  suited  to  the 
arms  of  the  Custis  family." 


"  FOR  Miss  CUSTIS,  6  YEARS  OLD. 

"  A  coat  made  of  fashionable  Silk. 

A  fashionable  Cap  or  Fillet  with  bib  apron. 

Ruffles  and  Tucker — to  be  laced. 

4  fashionable  dresses  to  be  made  of  Long  lawn. 

2  fine  Cambric  frocks. 

A  Sattin  Capuchin  hat  and  neckatees. 

A  Persian  quilted  coat. 

1  pr.  pack  thread  Stays. 

4  p.  Calamanco  Shoes,  6  pr  leather  ditto  and 

2  p'r  Sattin  do.  with  flat  ties. 

6  pr  fine  Cotton  Stockings,  4  pr  White  Wors'd  Do. 

12  p'r  Mitts.  6  p'r  Gloves,  white  Kids. 

1  p'r  Silver  Shoe  buckles. 

1  pr.  neat  sleeve  buttons. 

6  handsome  Egrets*  different  sorts. 

6  yds  Ribbon  Do. 

*  An  Egrette  or  Aigrette  was  an  ornament  for  the  head  then  much  used  by  people 
of  fashion.  They  were  sometimes  made  of  tufts  of  feathers,  diamonds,  etc.,  but  more 
frequently  of  ribbons.  In  the  above  invoice  both  kinds  were  ordered. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  61 

1  pr.  little  Scissors. 

3  M  (thousand)  large  pins.     3  M  short  whites. 

3  M  Minikens. 
.    L  Fashionable  dressed  Doll  to  cost  a  guinea.     1  Do.  at  5*. 

A  box  Gingerbread,  Toys  &  Sugar  Images  and  Comfits. 

A  neat  Small  Bible,  bound  in  Turkey,  and  Martha  Parke 
Custis  wrote  on  the  inside  in  gilt  letters. 

A  Small  Prayer  Book,  neat  and  in  the  same  manner. 

12  yards  coarse  green  Callimanco. 

The  above  things  to  be  put  into  a  Strong  Trunk — separate 
from  J.  P.  Custis's,  whose  will  likewise  be  put  into  a 
Trunk,  each  having  their  names. 

1  very  good  Spinet  [a  small  harpsichord],  to  be  made  by 
Mr.  Plinius,  Harpsichord  Maker,  in  South  Audley  Street, 
Grosvenor  Square. 

"  It  is  begged  as  a  favor  that  Mr.  Carey  would  bespeak  this 
instrument  as  for  himself  or  a  friend,  and  not  let  it  be  known  y1 
is  intended  for  exportation. 

"Send  a  good  assortment  of  spare  strings  to  it. 

"Books  according  to  the  enclosed  List — to  be  charged 
equally  to  both  John  Parke  Custis  and  Martha  Parke  Custis — 
likewise  one  Ream  of  Writing  paper." 

These  specimens  of  orders  which  were  sent  out  annually  to 
England,  are  given  as  glimpses  of  the  domestic  arrangements 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  style  in  which  the  wealthier  Vir- 
ginia families,  of  cultivated  tastes,  lived  before  the  Revolution. 
It  is  evident  that  Washington  and  his  family  indulged  in  all 
the  fashionable  luxuries  (not  extravagances)  of  the  day,  per- 
taining to  the  table  and  the  wardrobe ;  and  in  the  absence  of 
positive  proof,  these  invoices  would  afford  the  strongest  infer- 


62  MOUNT    VERNON 

ential  evidences  that  they  spent  much  of  their  earlier  years  in 
the  enjoyment  of  social  pleasures. 

Washington's  Diaries  bear  still  stronger,  because  positive 
testimony  to  the  fact  During  some  months,  two  or  three 
times  a  week  he  records  the  result  of  a  day's  sport  thus: 
"  Went  a  hunting  with  Jacky  Custis,  and  catched  a  fox,  after 
three  hours  chase.  Found  it  in  the  creek :"  or,  "  Mr.  Brvar 
Fairfax,  Mr.  Grayson  and  Phil.  Alexander  came  home  by  sun- 
rise. Hunted  and  catched  a  fox  with  these,  Lord  Fairfax,  his 
brother,  and  Colonel  Fairfax — all  of  whom  with  Mr.  Fairfax 
and  Mr.  Wilson  of  England,  dined  here."  Afterward,  two 
days  in  succession :  "  Hunted  again  with  the  same  com- 
pany." 

Still  more  frequently  he  noted  the  arrival  and  departure  of 
guests.  One  day  the  Fairfaxes,  or  Masons,  or  Thurstons,  or 
Lees  would  be  there ;  and  the  next  day  he  and  "  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, Mr.  and  Miss  Custis  "  would  "  dine  at  Belvoir."  And 
so  the  round  of  visiting  went  on.  Mount  Yernon  was  seldom 
without  a  guest.  The  hunting  day,  which  occurred  so  fre- 
quently, generally  ended  in  a  dinner  there  or  at  Belvoir,  a 
little  lower  on  the  Potomac — more  frequently  at  the  former ; 
and*  the  hospitalities  of  the  house  were  kept  up  in  a  style 
which  none  but  a  wealthy  planter  could  afford.  "  Would  any 
one  believe,"  Washington  says  in  his  diary  of  1768,  "that  with 
a  hundred  and  one  cows,  actually  reported  at  a  late  enumera- 
tion of  the  cattle,  I  should  still  be  obliged  to  buy  butter  for  my 
family  2-" 

For  Mrs.  Washington  and  her  lady  visitors  he  kept  a  chariot 
and  four  horses,  with  black  postillions  in  livery ;  and  these 
were  frequently  seen  and  admired  upon  the  road  between 


ANI'     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  63 

Mount  Vernon  and  Alexandria,  or  the  neighboring  estates. 
He  took  great  delight  in  horses.  Those  of  his  own  stable  were 
of  the  best  blood,  and  their  names,  as  well  as  those  of  his  dogs, 
were  registered  in  his  household  books.  When  abroad,  he 
always  appeared  on  horseback ;  and  as  he  was  one  of  the  most 
superb  men  and  skilful  horsemen  in  Virginia,  he  must  have 
made  an  imposing  appearance,  especially  when  fully  equipped 
for  the  road,  with  the  following  articles,  which  were  ordered 
by  him  from  London,  in  one  of  his  annual  invoices : 

"  1  Man's  Riding-Saddle,  hogskin  seat,  large  plated  stirrups, 
and  everything  complete.  Double-reined  bridle  and  Pel- 
ham  Bit,  plated. 

A  very  neat  and  fashionable  Newmarket  Saddle-Cloth. 

A  large  and  best  Portmanteau,  Saddle,  Bridle  and  Pillion. 

Cloak -Bag  Surcingle  ;  checked  Saddle-cloth,  holsters,  &c. 

A  Riding  Frock  of  handsome  drab-colored  Broadcloth,  with 
plain  double-gilt  Buttons. 

A  Riding  Waistcoat  of  superfine  scarlet  cloth  and  gold  Lace, 
with  Buttons  like  those  of  the  Coat. 

A  blue  Surtout  Coat. 

A  neat  Switch  Whip,  silver  cap. 

Black  Velvet  Cap  for  Servant." 

Thus  attired,  and  accompanied  by  Bishop,  his  favorite  body 
servaiit,  in  scarlet  livery,  Washington  was  frequently  seen 
upon  the  road,  except  on  Sunday  morning,  when  he  always 
rode  in  the  chaise,  with  his  family,  to  the  church  at  Pohick  or 
at  Alexandria. 

Like  other  gentlemen  living  near  the  Potomac,  Washington 
was  fond  of  aquatic  sports.  He  kept  a  handsome  barge,  which, 


64  MOUNT     VERNON 

on  special  occasions,  was  manned  by  black  oarsmen  in  livery. 
Pleasant  sailing-boats  were  frequently  seen  sweeping  along  the 
surface  of  the  river,  freighted  with  ladies  and  gentlemen  going 
from  mansion  to  mansion  on  its  banks — Mount  Vernon,  Gun- 
ston  Hall,  Belvoir,  and  other  places — on  social  visits. 

Washington  and  his  wife  frequently  visited  Annapolis  and 
Williamsburg,  the  respective  capitals  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia. For  fifteen  consecutive  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 

\ 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and  Mrs.  Washington  spent  much 

of  her  time  with  him  at  Williamsburg  during  the  sessions. 
Both  fond  of  amusements,  they  frequently  attended  the  theat- 
rical representations  there  and  at  Annapolis,  that  entertainment 
being  then  a  recent  importation  from  England,  the  first  com- 
pany of  actors,  under  the  direction  of  Lewis  Hallam,  having 
first  performed  in  the  Maryland  capital  in  1752.  They  also 
attended  balls  and  parties  given  by  the  fashionable  people  of 
Williamsburg  and  Annapolis,  and  frequently  joined  in  the 
dance.  But  after  the  Revolution  Washington  was  never 
known  to  dance,  his  last  performance  being  in  a  minuet,  of 
which  he  was  very  fond,  on  the  occasion  of  a  ball  given  at 
Fredericksburg  in  honor  of  the  French  and  American  officers 
then  there,  on  their  way  north,  after  the  capture  of  Cornwallis, 
toward  the  close  of  1781. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed,  that  during  these  years  of  his 
earlier  married  life,  Washington's  time  was  wholly,  or  even 
chiefly,  occupied  in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  and  of  social 
intercourse.  Far  from  it.  He  was  a  man  of  great  industry 
and  method,  and  managed  his  large  estates  with  signal  indus- 
try and  ability.  He  did  not  leave  his  farms  to  the  entire  care 
of  his  overseers.  He  -was  very  active,  and  continually,  even 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  65 

when  absent  on  public  business,  exercised  a  general  supervision 
of  his  affairs,  requiring  a  carefully  prepared  report  of  all  oper- 
ations to  be  transmitted  to  him  weekly,  for  his  inspection  and 
suggestions. 

He  was  very  abstemious,  and  while  his  table  always  fur- 
nished his  guests  with  ample  and  varied  supplies  for  their 
appetites,  he  never  indulged  in  the  least  excess,  either  in  eating 
or  drinking.  He  was  an  early  riser,  and  might  be  found  in 
his  library  from  one  to  two  hours  before  daylight  in  winter, 
and  at  dawn  in  summer.  His  toilet,  plain  and  simple,  was 
soon  made.  A  single  servant  prepared  his  clothes,  and  laid 
them  in  a  proper  place  at  night  for  use  in  the  morning.  He 
also  combed  and  tied  his  master's  hair. 

Washington  always  dressed  and  shaved  himself.  The  im- 
plements he  then  used  have  been  preserved,  as  interesting 
relics,  in  the  family  of  Doctor  Stuart,  who,  as  we  have  ob- 
served, married  the  widow  of  John  Parke  Custis,  the  son  of 
Mrs.  Washington.  Though  neat  in  his  dress  and  appearance, 
lie  never  wasted  precious  moments  upon  his  toilet,  for  he 
always  regarded  time,  not  as  a  gift  but  as  a  loan,  for  which  he 
must  account  to  the  great  Master. 

Washington  kept  his  own  accounts  most  carefully  and  me- 
thodically, in  handwriting  remarkable  for  its  extreme  neatness 
and  uniformity  of  stroke.  This  was  produced  by  the  constant 
use  of  a  gold  pen.  One  of  these,  with  a  silver  case,  used  by 
Washington  during  a  part  of  the  old  war  for  independence,  he 
presented  to  his  warm  personal  friend,  General  Anthony  Wal- 
ton White,  of  New  Jersey,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and 
patriotic  of  the  cavalry  officers  of  that  war  in  the  southern 
campaigns.  It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Eliza  M. 
5 


-66  MOUNT     VERNON 

Evans,  near  Brunswick,  Xew  Jersey,  the  only  surviving  child 
of  General  White.  In  OTIC  end  of  the  silver  pen-case  is  a 
sliding  tube  for  a  common  black-lead  pencil,  the  convenient 
"'  ever-pointed"  pencil  being  unknown  in  Washington's  time. 
That  was  invented  by  Isaac  Hawkins,  and  patented  by  him,  in 
London,  in  1802. 


WASHINGTON'S  GOLD  PEN  WITH  SILVER  CASE. 

From  his  youth  Washington  kept  a  diary.  For  many  years 
these  records  of  his  daily  experience  were  made  on  the  blank 
leaves  of  the  Virginia  Almanac,  "  Printed  and  sold  by  Purdie 


KAC-SIMILK    OF    PAKB-HEADI.NO*    IN    WASHINGTON'S    DIARY. 

and  Dixon,  Williamsburg."  They  are  headed  respectively,  as 
seen  in  the  engraving,  which  is  a  fac-simile  from  one  of  his  early 
diaries  after  his  marriage.  Under  similar  headings  in  these  al- 
manacs, and  in  small  blank  pocket-books,  this  man  of  mighty 
labors  kept  such  records,  from  day  to  day,  for  more  than  forty 
years  ;  and  he  frequently  noted  therein  minute  particulars  con- 
cerning his  agricultural  operations,  in  the  style  of  the  sentence 
on  the  next  page,  which  was  copied  from  his  diary  for  March, 
1771. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


Thus  minutely  journalizing  his  agricultural  proceedings, 
keeping  his  own  accounts,  making  all  his  own  surveys,  and, 
even  before  the  Revolution,  having  an  extensive  correspond- 


<y    (7 

FAC-SIMILE    OF    ENTRY    IN    WASHINGTON'S    DIARY. 

ence,  Washington  found  much  daily  employment  for  his  pen. 
The  labors  in  his  library,  and  a  visit  to  his  stables,  usually 
occupied  the  hours  before  breakfast.  After  making  a  frugal 
meal  of  Indian  cakes,  honey,  and  tea  or  coffee,  he  would  mount 
his  horse  and  visit  every  part  of  his  estate  where  the  current 
operations  seemed  to  require  his  presence,  leaving  his  guests 
to  enjoy  themselves  with  books  and  papers,  or  otherwise, 
according  to  their,  choice.  He  rode  upon  his  farms  entirely  un- 
attended, opening  the  gates,  pulling  down  and  putting  up  the 
fences,  and  inspecting,  with  a  careful  eye,  every  agricultural 
operation,  and  personally  directing  the  manner  in  which 
many  should  be  performed.  Sometimes  the  tour  of  his  farms, 
in  the  course  of  the  morning  might  average,  in  distance,  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  ;  and  on  these  occasions  his  appearance  was 
exceedingly  plain.  The  late  Mr.  Custis,  his  adopted  son,  has 
left  on  record  a  description  of  him  on  one  of  these  occasions,  in 


68  MOUNT     VKRNON 

the  latter  years  of  his  life,  which  he  gave  to  a  gentleman  who 
was  out  in  search  of  Washington  : 

''You  will  meet,  sir,"  said  young  Custis  to  the  inquirer, 
"  with  an  old  gentleman  riding  alone,  in  plain  drab  clothes,  a 
broad-brimmed  white  hat,  a  hickory  switch  in  his  hand,  and 
carrying  an  umbrella  with  a  long  staff  which  is  attached  to 
his  saddle-bow — that,  person,  sir,  is  General  Washington."* 
The  umbrella  was  used  to  shelter  him  from  the  sun,  for  his 
skin  was  tender  and  easily  affected  by  its  rays. 

His  breakfast  hour  was  seven  o'clock  in  summer  and  eight 
in  winter,  and  he  dined  at  three.  He  always  ate  heartily,  but 
was  no  epicure.  His  usual  beverage  was  small  beer  or  cider, 
and  Madeira  wine.  Of  the  latter  he  often  drank  several  small 
"•lasses  at  a  sitting.  He  took  tea  and  toast,  or  a  little  well- 

O  ~ 

baked  bread,  early  in  the  evening,  conversed  with  or  read  to 
his  family,  when  there  were  no  guests,  and  usually,  whether 
there  was  company  or  not,  retired  for  the  night  at  about  nine 
o'clock. 

So  carefully  did  Washington  manage  his  farms,  that  they 
became  very  productive.  His  chief  crops  were  wheat  and 
tobacco,  and  these  were  very  large — so  large  that  vessels  that 
came  up  the  Potomac,  took  the  tobacco  and  flour  directly  from 
his  own  wharf,  a  little  below  his  deer-park  in  front  of  his  man- 
sion, and  carried  them  to  England  or  the  West  Indies.  So 
noted  were  these  products  for  their  quality,  and  so  faithfully 
were  they  put  up,  that  any  barrel  of  flour  bearing  the  brand  of 
"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  MOUNT  VERNON,"  was  exempted  from 
the  customary  inspection  in  the  British  West  India  ports. 

*  ''Recollections   and  Private  Memoirs  of   Washington,  by  liis  Adopted  Son," 
168. 


AXD     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


Upon  the  spot  where  that  old  wharf 
once  stood,  at  the  foot  of  a  shaded  ra- 
vine scooped  from  the  high  bank  of  the 

Potomac,  through  which  flows  a  clear  stream  from  a  spring,  is  a 
rickety  modern  structure,  placed  there  for  the  accommodation 
of  visitors  to  Mount  Vernon,  who  are  conveyed  thither  by  a 
steamboat  twice  a  week.  There. may  be  seen  the  same  ravine, 
the  same  broad  river,  the  same  pleasant  shores  of  Maryland 
beyond ;  but,  instead  of  the  barrels  of  flour,  the  quintals  of 
lish,  and  the  hogsheads  of  tobacco  which  appeared  there  in 
Washington's  time,  well-dressed  men  and  women — true  pil- 


70  MOUNT     VERNON 

grims  to  a  hallowed  shrine,  or  mere  idle  gazers  upon  the  burial 
place  of  a  great  man — throng  that  wharf  as  they  arrive  and 
depart  on  their  errands  of  patriotism  or  of  curiosity. 

And  nowr  the  dawn  of  great  events,  in  which  Washington 
was  to  be  a  conspicuous  actor,  glowed  in  the  eastern  sky. 
From  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  where  marts  of  commerce  had 
begun  to  spread  their  meshes  (then  small  and  feeble)  for  the 
world's  traffic,  came  a  sound  of  tumult ;  and  the  red  presages 
of  a  tempest  appeared  in  that  glowing  orient.  At  first,  that 
sound  was  like  a  low  whisper  upon  the  morning  air,  and, 
finally,  it  boomed  like  a  thunder-peal  over  the  hills  and  valleys 
of  the  interior,  arousing  the  inhabitants  to  the  defence  of  the 
immunities  of  freemen  and  the  inalienable  rights  of  man. 

Time  after  time,  for  the  space  of  a  hundred  years,  the  decree 
had  gone  forth  from  British  councils,  that  the  Anglo-American 
colonists  should  be  the  commercial  as  well  as  political  vassals 
of  the  crown ;  and  chains  of  restrictions  upon  trade  had  been 
forged  by  an  unwise  and  unrighteous  policy,  and  fastened 
upon  the  lusty  arms  of  the  young  giant  of  the  West.  And 
from  time  to  time  the  giant,  not  all  unconscious  of  his  strength, 
yet  docile  because  loyal,  had  spoken  out  mild  remonstrances 
with  deferential  words.  These  had  been  heard  with  scorn, 
and  answered  by  renewed  offences. 

An  extravagant  administration  had  exhausted  the  national 
exchequer,  and  the  desperate  spendthrift,  too  proud  to  borrow 
of  itself  by  curtailing  its  expenditures,  seemed  to  think  nothing 
more  honorable  than  a  plea  of  bankruptcy,  and  sought  to 
replenish  its  coffers  by  taking  the  money  of  the  Americans 
without  their  consent,  in  the  form  of  indirect  taxation.  This 
was  in  violation  of  the  great  republican  postulate,  that 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  71 

TAXATION    AND    REPRESENTATION    ARE    INSEPARABLE. 

And  when  the  well-known  stamp  act  was  signed  by  the  king, 
and  its  requirements  and  its  penalties  were  proclaimed  in 
America,  the  tempest  of  which  we  have  spoken  was  aroused. 
It  swept  from  the  sea  to  the  mountains,  and  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  sea,  until  those  who  had  sown  the  wind,  were 
alarmed  at  the  harvest  they  were  reaping. 

At  Mount  Vernon  there  was  a  spirit  that  looked  calmly,  but 
not  unconcernedly,  upon  the  storm,  and,  with  prophetic  vision, 
seemed  to  perceive  upon  the  shadowy  political  sky  the  horo- 
scope of  his  own  destiny.  Washington  was  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and  had  listened  from  his  seat 
to  the  burning  words  of  Patrick  Henry,  when  he  enunciated 
those  living  truths,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  the  husband- 
man of  Mount  Vernon  drew  his  sword  a  few  years  later.  His 
soul  was  fired  with  the  sense  of  oppression  and  the  thoughts 
of  freedom,  yet  his  sober  judgment  and  calculating  prudence 
repressed  demonstrative  enthusiasm,  and  made  him  a  firm,  yet 
conservative  patriot. 

Among  those  who  came  to  Mount  Vernon  at  this  time,  and 
for  years  afterward,  to  consult  with  Washington  respecting 
public  affairs,  was  his  neighbor  and  friend  of  Gunston  Hall. 
George  Mason.  He  was  six  years  older  than  Washington,  of 
large,  sinewy  frame,  an  active  step  and  gait,  locks  of  raven 
blackness,  a  dark  complexion,  and  a  grave  countenance,  which 
was  lighted  up  by  a  black  eye,  whose  glance  was  felt  with 
power  by  those  upon  whom  it  chanced  to  fall.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  methodical  of  men,  and  most  extensive  of  the  Vir- 
ginia planters  at  that  time  ;  and  like  Washington  from  Mount 
Vernon,  shipped  his  crops  from  his  own  wharf,  near  his  elegant 


72  MOUNT    VERNON 

mansion  of  Gunston  Hall.  He  was  proud,  yet  extremely 
courteous;  and  while  no  man  could  be  a  warmer  and  more 
faithful  friend  than  he,  his  hearing  was  such  as  to  excite  admi- 
ration rather  than  love.  His  strong  mind  was  thoroughly  cul- 
tivated, and  he  was  conversant  with  the  minute  particulars  of 
English  general  history,  and  especially  with  the  political  his- 
tory of  the  English  empire.  His  mind  was  quick  to  perceive ; 
his  judgment  equally  quick  to  analyze  and  arrange ;  and  these 
qualities  made  him  a  most  skilful  statesman.  In  council  he 
was  eminently  wise ;  in  debate  he  was  distinguished  for  extra- 
ordinary ability;  and  as  a  political  writer,  he  was  without  a 
peer  in  his  country,  when  the  rising  dispute  with  Great  Britain 
was  occupying  the  thoughts  of  men  in  both  hemispheres. 
Such  was  the  man  with  whom,  at  Mount  Vernon  and  at 
Gunston  Hall,  "Washington  held  close  conference  for  many 
years,  while  the  flame  of  the  Revolution  was  slowly  kindling. 
The  storm  of  the  stamp  act  season  passed  by,  but  it  was 
succeeded  by  many  others.  In  the  intervals  Washington  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  the 
pleasures  of  social  life.  In  all  the  public  affairs  of  his  neigh- 
borhood, he  was  an  active  participant ;  and  as  early  as  1765, 
the  year  when  the  stamp  act  became  a  law,  he  was  a  vestry- 
man of  both  Truro  and  Fairfax  parishes,  in  which  Pohick  in 
the  country,  and  Christ  Church  in  Alexandria,  were  the  re- 
spective places  of  worship.  In  that  year  his  name  is  appended 
to  a  declaration,  with  others,  that  he  would  "be  conformable 
to  the  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  as 
by  law  established."  With  his  name  appear  those  of  George 
Mason,  George  William  Fairfax,  Edward  Payne,  Captain 
Charles  Broadwater,  and  more  than  twenty  others. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  73 

During  the  earlier  years  of  his  married  life,  Washington 
attended  Pohick  church,  seven  miles  from  Mount  Vernon. 
more  frequently  than  any  other.  The  first  church  of  that 
name  was  a  frame  building,  and  stood  on  the  south  side  of 
Pohick  creek,  about  two  miles  from  the  present  edifice. 
About  the  year  1764,  it  became  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  no 
longer  fit  for  use.  The  parishioners  were  called  together  to  con- 
sult upon  the  erection  of  a  new  one.  Among  those  assembled 
was  Washington,  and  the  father  of  George  Mason,  then  ad- 
vanced in  years  and  greatly  respected.  When  the  question  of 
the  location  of  the  new  church  came  up  for  consideration,  there 
was  a  difference  of  opinion.  Mr.  Mason  was  in  favor  of  the 
old  site,  and  Washington  was  opposed  to  it.  Mr.  Mason  made 
a  pathetic  appeal  in  favor  of  the  old  site,  pleading  that 
there  was  the  spot  where  their  fathers  had  worshipped,  and  it 
was  consecrated  by  their  graves  which  surrounded  it.  Wash- 
ington and  others  took  the  ground  that  the  spot  was  far  less 
convenient  for  the  parish  than  a  more  central  one.  The  sub- 
ject took  a  shape  that  required  more  reflection,  and  a  second 
meeting  was  called.  Meanwhile,  Washington  made  a  careful 
survey  of  the  whole  neighborhood,  marking  the  place  of  every 
house,  and  the  relative  distances,  on  a  distinct  map.  When 
the  second  meeting  was  held,  Mason  ngain  appealed  to  the 
sympathies  of  the  people,  when  Washington  appealed  to  their 
common  sense,  by  simply  presenting  his  map  and  explaining  it 
in  a  few  words.  His  almost  mute  argument  prevailed,  and 
the  site  of  the  present  church  was  selected. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  the  erection  of  the  new 
church,  but  it  was  not  completed  until  the  year  1773.  Wash- 
ington drew  the  ground-plan  and  elevation  of  the  building  for 


7-t 


MOUNT     V  K  II X  O  X 


the  use  of  the  architect,  ami  these  (the  originals)  are  before  me 
while  I  write.  They  are  very  neatly  sketched  with  China  ink, 
upon  good  drawing  paper,  and  occupy  a  space  thirteen  by 
fifteen  inches  square.  The  engraving  is  from  a  carefully 


!( 


66  fy  4,5  a 


GROUND    PLAN    AND    ELEVATION   OF    POHICK    CHURCH. 

drawn  copy  on  a  small  scale,  but  shows  every  line  as  seen  in 
Washington's  drawing. 

Of  the  ministers  who  officiated  at  Pohick,  there  were  none 


AX  D     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  75 

more  beloved  than  the  Reverend  Lee  Massey.  He  was  the 
companion  of  Washington  from  his  jouth,  and  at  his  solicita- 
tion, and  that  of  Mason,  Fairfax,  IVTCnTty,  Chichester,  and 
others  of  that  parish,  he  was  induced  to  relinquish  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law,  study  divinity,  and  become  their  pastor.  His 
speech  becoming  impaired  by  the  loss  of  his  front  teeth,  he  left 
the  pulpit,  and  studied  medicine  as  a  means  of  affording  relief 
to  the  poor. 

Another  clergyman,  who  officiated  occasionally  at  Pohick 
church,  after  the  regular  stated  services  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land had  ceased  there,  was  the  eccentric  Mason  L.  Weems,  the 
earliest  biographer  of  Washington.  The  style  of  that  biogra- 
phy was  so  attractive  to  the  uncultivated  readers  of  his  day, 
that  it  passed  through  some  forty  editions,  and  even  now  if, 
tinds  a  sale.  His  character  appeal's  to  have  been  a  curious 
compound  of  seriousness  and  levity,  truthfulness  and  exaggera- 
tion, reverence  and  profanity.  He  was  an  itinerant  in  every 
sense  of  the  word.  He  was  a  man  cf  considerable  attainments 
as  a  scholar,  physician,  and  divine ;  and  his  benevolence  wras 
unbounded.  When  a  boy  of  fourteen  years,  he  was  found 
at  night  teaching  half-clad,  half-fed  children,  who  gathered 
eagerly  around  him ;  and  all  through  life  he  was  ready  to 
share  a  crust  with  the  unfortunate.  He  used  wit  and  humor 
freely  on  all  occasions.  "  Whether  in  private  or  public,  in 
prayers  or  preaching,"  says  Bishop  Meade,  "it  was  impossible 
that  either  the  young  or  old,  the  grave  or  the  gay,  could  keep 
their  risible  faculties  from  violent  agitation."  He  would  pray 
with  the  negro  servants  at  night,  and  fiddle  for  them  by  the 
road-side  by  day.  For  many  years  he  was  a  travelling  book- 
seller, preaching  when  invited,  haranguing  the  people  at 


76  M  0  U  N  T     V  K  R  N7  O  N 

courts,  fairs,  and  other  public  gatherings,  and  selling  the 
Bible  out  of  one  hand  and  Paine's  Age  of  Reason  out  of  the 
other,  alleging  as  an  excuse  for  the  latter  performance,  that  he 
always  carried  the  antidote  with  the  poison.  His  fund  of 


MASON    L.    WtEMS. 


anecdote  was  inexhaustible;  and  after  giving  a  promiscuous 
audience  the  highest  entertainment  of  fun,  he  found  them  .,i 
good  mood  to  purchase  his  books.  At  Mount  Vernon  he  was 
always  a  welcome  guest,  for  Washington  loved  his  goodness 
of  heart  and  overlooked  his  foibles.  Mr.  Weems  died  at 
Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  in  May,  1825,  at  an  advanced  age. 

After  the  Revolution,  for  reasons  not  clearly  seen,  Washing- 
ton attended  Christ  Church,  at  Alexandria  (of  wrhich  he  was  a 
vestryman),  instead  of  Pohick.  Others  of  the  latter  parish  fol- 
lowed, and  after  a  while  regular  services  ceased  in  that  part  of 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


77 


the  country.  Washington  owned  a  pew  in  Christ  Church  from 
the  establishment  of  the  parish,  in  176rt,  and  occupied  it  con- 
stantly after  1783,  until  his  death.  Some  of  his  name  have 
held  possession  of  it  ever  since.  Judge  Bushrod  Washington 


CHRIST    CTTURCH,    AI.KXANDRIA. 


succeeded  the  General  in  its  occupancy,  then  his  nephew,  John 
A.  Washington,  the  father  of  the  late  proprietor  of  Mount 
Vernon,  and  lastly,  that  propriet or. himself.  Christ  Church,  at 
Alexandria,  was  finished  in  1773,  and  Washington  paid  the 
highest  price  for  a  pew  in  it. 

I  visited  Pohick  Church  a  few  years  ago,  and  found  it  falling 
rapidly  into  decay.  It  stands  upon  an  eminence  north  of 
Pohick  Creek,  on  the  border  of  a  forest  that  extends  almost 
uninterruptedly  to  Mount  Vernon.  Around  it  are  the  ancient 
oaks  of  the  primeval  wood,  interspersed  with  chestnuts  and 
pines.  It  was  just  at  twilight  when  I  reached  the  old  fane,  and 
after  making  a  sketch  of  it,  I  passed  on  to  seek  lodgings  for  the 


78 


MOUNT     VERNON 


night.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  being  informed 
that  a  Methodist  meeting  was  to  be  held  in  the  church,  I 
repaired  thither  at  the  usual  hour,  and  took  a  seat  in  Washing- 
ton's pew,  near  the  pulpit.  There  1  awaited  the  slow  gathering 
of  the  little  auditory.  When  all  had  assembled,  men  and 


POHICK    CHURCH    IN    1858. 


women  and  children,  white  and  black,  the  whole  congre- 
gation numbered  only  twenty-one  persons.  I  could  not 
refrain  from  drawing  a  parallel  with  the  scenes  of  other  days 
under  that  venerated  roof,  when  some  of  the  noblest  of  Vir- 
ginia's aristocracy  worship] >ed  there,  while  clergymen,  in  sur- 
plice and  gown,  performed  the  solemn  and  impressive  ritual 
of  the  Church  of  England.  Now,  a  young  man,  with  nothing 
to  distinguish  him  from  other  men  but  a  white  cravat,  stood  as 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


teacher  within  the  old  chancel  by  the  side  of  the  ancient  com- 
munion-table,    lie  talked  sweetly  of  Christian  charity  : 

"  Oh,  the  rarity 
Of  Christian  charity." 

and  asked  the  little  company  to  join  with  him  in  singing  the 

hymn — 

"Come,  Holy  Spirit!  Heavenly  Dove!" 

When  the  service  was  over,  I  made  note,  with  pen  and  pencil, 
of  all  within.  It  was  a  melancholy  task,  for  decay  with  its 
busy  fingers  was  at  work  all  around  me,  making  sure  prophe- 
cies of  the  speeedy  desolation  of  a  building  hallowed  by  associ- 
ations with  the  beloved  Washington.  Upon  the  wall,  back  of 
the  chancel,  were  still  inscribed,  the  Law,  the  Creed,  and  the 
Lord} s  Prayer,  upon  which  the  eyes  of  Washington  and  his 
friends  had  rested  a  thousand  times.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
panes  of  glass  were  broken  from  the  windoAvs,  admitting  freely 
the  wind  and  the  rain,  the  bats  and  the 
birds.  The  elaborately  wrought  pulpit, 
placed  by  itself  on  one  side  of  the  church, 
was  sadly  marred  by  desecrating  hands. 
Under  its  sounding-board,  a  swallow  had 
built  her  nest ;  and  upon  the  book  ledge 
the  fowls  of  the  air  had  evidently  perched. 
These  things  brought  to  memory  the 
words  of  the  "sweet  singer  of  Israel"- 
"  Yea,  the  sparrow  has  found  a  home,  and 
the  swallow  a  nest  for  herself,  where  she 
may  lay  her  young,  even  thine  altar,  O 
Lord  of  Hosts !" 


PULPIT  I\    POniCJC   CHURCH. 


80  M  0  U  N  T     V  E  It  N  0  X 

In  the  spring  of  1772  there  was  a  stranger  at  Mount  Vernon, 
in  errand  and  person.  He  was  one-and-thirty  years  of  age, 
slender  in  form,  with  a  sweet  and  thoughtful  face.  He  was  a 
native  of  Maryland,  and  had  been  a  saddler's  apprentice  at 
Annapolis,  the  capital  of  the  province.  In  boyhood  he  had 
been  as  beautiful  as  a  girl,  and  at  twenty  he  was  a  handsome 
young  man.  At  that  age  he  felt  spiritual  aspirations  for  the 
life  of  an  artist ;  and  when,  two  or  three  years  later,  he  said  to 
a  retired  painter  who  resided  a  few  miles  from  Annapolis, 
"  Show  me,  Mr.  Hesselins,  how  you  mix  such  beautiful  tints 
for  your  canvas,  and  I  will  give  you, the  best  saddle  that  I  can 
make,"  a  new  world  was  opening  to  his  enraptured  vision. 
At  that  moment  his  true  artist  life  began,  for  the  generous 
painter  revealed  to  him  the  coveted  secret.  Then  the  occupa- 
tions of  watchmaker,  silversmith,  carver,  and  saddler,  in  which 
he  had  severally  engaged,  were  abandoned  for  the  pursuit 
of  art,  except  when  stern  necessity  compelled  him  to  employ 
them  in  earning  his  daily  food.  Thus  he  worked  on  until  a 
way  was  opened  for  him  to  go  to  England  and  place  himself 
under  the  instruction  of  Benjamin  West,  the  great  American 
painter,  then  the  loved  companion  of  the  king.  Two  years  he 
remained  with  West,  and  in  1769,  Charles  Willson  Peale,  the 
young  artist  referred  to,  returned  to  his  native  country  and  set 
up  his  easel  as  a  portrait  painter  at  Annapolis  and  Baltimore 
with  wonderful  success. 

The  fame  of  the  young  painter  soon  reached  Mount  Vernon, 
and  he  was  invited  there  to  delineate,  for  the  first  time,  the 
form  and  features  of  the  noble  "  lord  of  the  manor."  lie 
executed  the  commission  admirably,  and  produced  a  fine 
portrait  of  Washington  at  the  age  of  forty  years,  life  size,  a 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


81 


little  more  than  half-length,  and  in  the  costume  of  a  colonel  of 
the  twenty-second  regiment  of  the  Virginia  Militia.  The  coat 
is  blue,  with  red  facings,  and  bright  metal  buttons,  having  the 


CHAKLKS    WIIiLSON  PEALE. 


number  of  the  regiment  ("22")  cast  upon  them.     The  waist- 
coat and  breeches  are  also  red,  and  the  sash,  a  faded  purple. 

"When,  in  1797  or  '98,  Field,  an  English  miniature  painter 
and  engraver  of  some  eminence,  visited 
Mount  Yernon,  he  slept  in  a  room  in  which 
hung  Washington's  old  military  coat.  The 
painter  cut  off  one  of  the  buttons,  and 
brought  it  away  with  him,  regarding  the 
transaction  as  a  pious  theft,  no  doubt,  be- 
cause prompted  by  veneration  for  the  owner. 
That  button  is  now  in  the  possession  of  John  F.  Watson,  Esq.. 

6 


WASHINGTON  S 
MILITARY    BUTTON'. 


MOUNT    VKRXON 


the  venerable  annalist  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and  at 
his  house  in  Germantown  the  r.nnexod  sketch  of  it  was  made. 


WASHINGTON    AS    A    VIRGINIA    COLONEL   AT   THE    AGE    OF    FORTY. 

Field  had  a  pleasant  countenance  and  fine  portly  figure.  He 
was,  on  the  whole,  rather  fat,  and  loved  his  ease.  "When  at 
Centreville,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  in  1798,"  says 
Rembrandt  Peale,  in  a  recent  letter  to  a  friend,  "  Field  and  I 
took  a  walk  into  the  country,  after  a  rain.  A  wide  puddle  of 
water  covered  the  road  beyond  the  fence  on  both  sides.  I 
climbed  the  fence  and  walked  round,  but  Field,  fat  and  lazy, 
in  good  humor  paid  an  old  negro  to  carry  him  on  his  shoulders 
over  the  water.  In  the  middle  of  it,  Field  became  so  convuls- 
ed with  laughter,  that  lie  nearly  shook  himself  off  the  old 
man's  back." 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS 


83 


Field  went  to  Canada,  studied  theology  a  little,  was  ordain- 
ed a  priest  of  the  Estab- 
lished   Church,    and    be- 
came a  bishop. 

The  portrait  painted  by 
young  Peale,  at  that  time, 
was  the  first  that  was 
ever  made  of  Washing- 
ton. From  the  study  he 
then  made,  lie  painted  the 
fine  picture  which  hung 
at  Mount  Vernon  until 
the  owner's  death,  and 
since  that  time  has  graced 
the  walls  of  Arlington 
House,  the  home  of  the 
late  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis.  The  study 
— the  really  first  portrait, 
was  afterward  dressed  in 
the  continental  costume. 
This  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  the  artist  and 
his  family  until  the  Peale 
gallery,  in  Philadelphia, 
was  sold  a  few  years  ago, 
when  it  was  purchased  by 
Charles  S.  Ogden,  Esq.,  in 
whose  possession  it  now 


rests. 


FAC-SIMILE    OF    PKALE  S    RECEIPT 


84  MOUNT    TBBNON 

While  at  Mount  Yernon  at  that  time,  Peale  painted  a  min- 
iature of  Mrs.  Washington,  for  her  son,  John  Parke  Custis, 
then  a  youth  of  eighteen,  for  which  Washington,  as  his 
guardian,  paid  ten  guineas,  according  to  a  receipt  in  the 
hand-writing  of  Washington,  and  signed  by  the  artist,  yet 
preserved  in  the  family. 


JOHN"    PARKE    CUSTIS. 


Peale's  miniatures  were  exquisitely  painted,  and  very  much 
sought  after.  A  few  years  later  he  painted  a  portrait,  in 
miniature,  of  young  Custis,  who  wras  then  General  Washing- 
ton's aide ;  also  of  his  wife,  the  second  daughter  of  Benedict 
Calvert,  of  Maryland,  a  descendant  of  Lord  Baltimore.  He 
also  painted  a  portrait  of  that  lady,  life  size,  before  her  mar- 
riage, in  which  she  is  represented  as  a  beautiful  young  girl  in 
equestrian  costume,  the  riding-jacket  being  open  in  front,  and 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  85 

on  her  head  a  riding-hat  with  a  feather.  The  miniature  of 
John  Parke  Custis,  from  which  our  engraving  was  copied,  was 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Washington  until  her  death,  and  is 
now  the  property  of  his  granddaughter,  the  wife  of  Colonel 
Robert  E.  Lee,  of  Arlington  House,  Virginia.* 

A  shadow  fell  upon  Mount  Yernon  in  the  spring  of  1773. 
No  child  had  blessed  the  union  of  "Washington  and  his  wife, 
and  her  two  children  received  the  most  tender  parental  care 
and  solicitude  from  their  step-father.  He  appeared  to  love 
them  as  his  own.  Martha  was  a  sweet  girl,  of  gentle  temper, 
graceful  form,  winning  ways,  and  so  much  a  brunette,  that  she 
was  called  "  the  dark  lady."  Just  as  she  was  blooming  into 
womanhood,  pulmonary  consumption  laid  its  withering  hand 
upon  her.  For  several  months  her  strength  had  been  failing, 
and  letters  filled  with  expressions  of  anxiety  went  frequently 
from  her  mother  to  Washington,  who  was  engaged  in  his 
duties  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  at  Williamsburg.  At  length 
a  most  alarming  letter  reached  him.  He  had  just  made 
arrangements  to  accompany  Lord  Dunmore,  the  governor,  on 
a  long  tour  of  observation  west  of  the  mountains,  but  he 
hastened  to  Mount  Vernon.  He  found  the  dear  child  in  the 
last  moments  of  earthly  life.  His  manly  spirit  was  bowed 
with  grief,  and  with  deep  feeling  he  knelt  at  the  side  of  her 
bed  and  prayed  most  earnestly  for  her  recovery.  Upon  the 
wings  of  that  holy  prayer  her  spirit  ascended,  and  when  he 
arose  and  looked  upon  her  pale  and  placid  face,  Death  had 
set  its  seal  there.  She  expired  on  the  nineteenth  of  June, 

*  Mr.  Peale  painted  many  other  portraits  of  Washington,  life  size  and  in  minia- 
ture. For  an  account  of  these,  see  note  to  the  chapter  on  Washington's  Portraits, 
in  Custis's  Recollections  and  Private  Memoirs  of  Washington. 


86  MOUNT     VKRNON 

when  in  the  seventeentli  year  of  her  age.  Her  departure  left 
a  great  void  in  the  heart  of  the  mother,  and  Washington 
remained  for  some  time  at  Mount  Yernon,  in  seclusion,  to  con- 
sole his  afflicted  wife,  instead  of  taking  the  contemplated 
journey  with  the  governor. 

And  now  the  flames  of  the  Revolution  were  rapidly  kind- 
ling all  over  the  land.  The  representatives  of  royal  authority 
had  been  buffeted  in  Boston,  and  acts  of  parliament  had  been 
set  at  naught,  in  such  manner,  that  an  indignant  decree  went 
forth  from  the  throne,  that  the  port  of  the  New  England  capital 
should  be  shut,  and  the  entire  machinery  of  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment be  clogged,  until  the  people  there  should  show  prac- 
tical signs  of  penitence  for  their  political  sins.  The  people 
defied  the  ministerial  power,  and  laughed  at  ministerial 
anathemas.  Then  a  new  governor,  with  armed  soldiers,  took 
possession  of  Boston,  and,  with  iron  heel,  crushed  its  commerce 
and  its  prosperity. 

Hot  was  the  indignation  of  the  colonists  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land,  and  to  every  stroke  of  resistance  given  by 
the  people  of  Massachusetts,  those  of  Virginia  abetted  and 
gave  loud  acclamations  of  applause.  For  ten  long  years  the 
people,  in  separate  communities,  had  petitioned  and  remon- 
strated in  vain.  Now  there  was  a  universal  desire  for  unity  of 
action,  and  a  GENERAL  CONGRESS  was  proposed,  in  accordance 
with  a  suggestion  made  by  Doctor  Franklin.  It  received  a 
hearty  response  in  every  colony,  and  the  5th  of  September, 
1774,  was  the  time  agreed  upon  for  such  congress  to  assemble, 
and  Philadelphia  the  place. 

For  a  long  time  Washington  had  been  much  engaged  in  the 
discussion  of  the  momentous  political  questions  of  the  day.  He 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  87 

was  firm  in  his  opinion,  but  no  enthusiast;  and  with  cautious 
but  unwavering  step,  lie  had  walked  in  the  path  of  opposition 
to  ministerial  measures.  He  heartily  approved  of  a  General 
Congress;  and  when,  after  the  Virginia  Assembly,  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  had  been  dissolved  by  the  governor,  and 
met  in  informal  convention,  to  consult  upon  the  expedient  of 
holding  another  council  to  elect  representatives  to  a  general 
congress,  he  was  warmly  in  favor  of  the  measure.  And  when 
that  congress  met,  he  was  among  the  delegates  chosen  for  the 
important  business  of  conferring,  in  solemn  earnestness,  upon 
the  destinies  of  a  nation. 

Washington  was  now  fairly  embarked  upon  the  stormy 
ocean  of  political  life  in  troublous  times — u  times,"  as  Paine 
afterward  said,  •'  that  tried  men's  souls."  Yast  were  the  stakes 
that  he  pledged.  Life,  fortune,  honor,  and  every  social  enjoy- 
ment were  all  imperilled ;  and  while  his  friend  and  neighbor 
of  Gunston  Hall  as  warmly  espoused  the  same  cause,  those  of 
Belvoir  adhered  to  the  crown. 

The  sports  of  the  chase,  social  visiting,  and  almost  everj 
amusement  of  life  now  ceased  at  Mount  Vernon.  Grave  men 
assembled  there,  and  questions  of  mighty  import  were  con- 
sidered thoughtfully  and  ]  rayerfully,  for  Washington  was  u 
man  of  prayer  from  earliest  manhood. 

At  length  the  time  arrived  for  the  assembling  of  the  national 
congress,  and  from  all  the  colonies,  except  Georgia,  the  dele- 
gates began  to  make  their  way  toward  Philadelphia,  some  on 
horseback,  others  in  coaches  or  chaises,  but  none  by  public 
conveyances,  for  there  were  few  of  these  even  in  the  most  pop- 
ulous provinces.  Some  travelled  alone,  others  in  pairs ;  and 
as  they  approached  the  Delaware  or  the  Schuylkill,  they  found 


88  M  0  U  N  T     V  K  R  N  0  X 

themselves  in  companies.  What  a  glorious  spectacle !  From 
twelve  strong  viceroyalties,  containing  an  aggregate  population 
of  almost  three  millions  of  people,  the  best  and  the  wisest  among 
them,  obedient  to  the  public  will,  were  on  their  way,  through 
vast  forests,  and  over  rugged  mountains,  across  broad  rivers, 
and  broader  morasses,  and  through  richly  cultivated  districts, 
cheerful  villages,  and  expanding  cities,  to  a  common  goal,  there 
to  meet,  deliberate,  and  confederate,  for  the  welfare,  not  only 
of  a  continent,  but  of  the  world  !  It  was  a  moral  spectacle  such 
as  had  been  hitherto  unrecorded  by  the  pen  of  history. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  31st  of  August,  1771,  two  men 
approached  Mount  Vernon  on  horseback.  One  of  them  was  a 
slender  man,  very  plainly  dressed  in  a  suit  of  ministers'  gray, 
and  about  forty  years  of  age.  The  other  was  his  senior  in 
years,  likewise  of  slender  form,  and  a  face  remarkable  for  its 
expression  of  unclouded  intelligence.  He  was  more  carefully 
dressed,  more  polished  in  manners,  and  much  more  fluent  in 
conversation  than  his  companion.  They  reached  Mount  Ver- 
non at  seven  o'clock,  and  after  an  exchange  of  salutations  with 
Washington  and  his  family,  and  partaking  of  breakfast,  the 
three  retired  to  the  library  and  were  soon  deeply  absorbed  in 
the  discussion  of  the  great  questions  then  agitating  the  people 
of  the  colonies.  The  two  travellers  were  Patrick  Henry  and 
Edmund  Pendleton.  A  third,  the  silver-tongued  Cicero  of 
Virginia,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  was  expected  with  them,  but  he 
had  been  detained  at  Chantilly,  his  seat  in  Westmoreland. 

All  day  long  these  three  eminent  Virginians  were  in  council ; 
and  early  the  next  morning  they  set  out  on  horseback  for  Phila- 
delphia, to  meet  the  patriots  from  other  colonies  there.  Will  Lee, 
Washington's  huntsman,  and  favorite  body  servant,  now  that 


AXD     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS 


80 


PATRICK    I1EXRV. 


Bishop  had  become  too  old  and  infirm  to  be  active,  was  the 
only  attendant  upon  his  master.  They  crossed  the  Potomac 
at  the  Falls  (now  Georgetown),  and  rode  far  on  toward  Balti- 
more, before  the  twilight.  On  the  -ith  of  September,  the  day 
before  the  opening  of  the  Congress,  they  breakfasted  at  Chris- 
tiana Ferry  (now  "Wilmington),  and  dined  at  Chester ;  and  that 
night  Washington,  according  to  his  diary,  "  lodged  at  Doctor 
Shippen's,  in  Philadelphia,  after  supping  at  the  New  Tavern. 'v 
At  that  house  of  public  entertainment  he  had  lodged  nearly 
two  years  before,  while  on  his  way  to  New  York  to  place 
young  Custis  in  King's  (now  Columbia)  College. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  the  5th  of  September, 
1774,  the  First  Continental  Congress  commenced  its  sessions 


MOUNT     VERNON 

in  Carpenter's  Hall,  in  Philadelphia.  The  members  first 
assembled  at  the  City  Tavern,  and  marched  in  procession  to  the 
Hall.  They  organized  the  congress  by  choosing  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph— a  large,  fleshy,  good-looking  Virginian,  five-and-forty 
years  of  age — as  president ;  and  for  secretary  they  appointed 
Charles  Thomson,  a  lean  man,  with  hollow,  sparkling  eyes, 
hair  quite  thin  and  gray,  and  a  year  younger  than  the  president, 
though  bearing  marks  of  premature  old  age.  Thomson  was  an 
accomplished  Pennsylvanian  ;  and,  notwithstanding  he  ap- 
peared so  old  at  the  age  of  forty -four,  he  lived  fifty  years 
longer,  while  the  florid,  healthful-looking  Randolph  died  the 
very  next  year,  within  an  hour  after  eating  a  hearty  dinner 
at  Richard  Hill's  country  seat,  near  Philadelphia. 

The  business  of  the  congress  was  opened  by  Patrick  Henry, 
and  the  session  continued  until  the  26th  of  October,  when  they 
had  laid  the  foundations  of  a  new  Republic,  deep  in  the  principles 
of  Truth  and  Justice.  They  debated  great  questions  with  the 
dignity  and  wisdom  of  sages,  and,  by  a  large  majority  adopted 
the  following  resolution — a  resolution  which  reaffirmed  all  pre- 
vious resolves  of  the  Americans  to  fight  for  freedom  rather  than 
submit  to  inglorious  political  servitude : 

"  Resolved, — THAT  THIS  CONGRESS  APPROVE  THE  OPPOSITION  OF 

THE    INHABITANTS    OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY   TO    THE  EXECUTION    OF 

THE  LATE  ACTS  OF  PARLIAMENT  ;  AND  IF  THE  SAME  SHALL  BE  AT- 
TEMPTED TO  BE  CARRIED  INTO  EXECUTION  BY  FORCE,  IN  SUCH  CASE, 
ALL  AMERICA  OUGHT  TO  SUPPORT  THEM  IN  THEIR  OPPOSITION. 

The  Congress  closed  their  important  labors  by  putting  forth 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  state  papers  that  ever  appeared 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  91 

ill  the  annals  of  the  nations.  The  perusal  of  them  drew  from  the 
Earl  of  Chatham  the  most  enthusiastic  encomiums,  in  a  speech 
in  the  House  of  Lords.  u  When  your  lordships,"  he  said, 
"  look  at  the  papers  transmitted  to  us  from  America ;  when  you 
consider  their  decency,  firmness,  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but 
respect  their  cause,  and  wish  to  make  it  your  own.  For  my- 
self, I  must  declare  and  avow,  that  in  all  my  reading  and  study 
of  history  (and  it  has  been  my  favorite  study — I  have  read 
Thucydides,  and  have  studied  and  admired  the  master  states 
of  the  world),  that  for  solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity, 
and  wisdom  of  conclusions,  under  such  a  complication  of  cir- 
cumstances, no  nation  or  body  of  men  can  stand  in  preference 
to  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia." 

It  was  in  a  congress  composed  of  such  men  that  Washington 
distinguished  himself.  Although  he  did  not  engage  in  the 
public  debates  (for  he  had  no  talent  for  extempore  speaking), 
and  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the  published  proceedings  of 
the  Congress  as  a  member  of  any  committee  during  the  session, 
liis  diary  shows  that  he  was  assiduous  in  his  attendance  at 
Carpenter's  Hall ;  and  there  is  ample  evidence  that  his  mind 
had  much  to  do  in  the  general  conduct  of  the  business,  and 
especially  in  the  preparation  of  the  state  papers  alluded  to. 
When  Patrick  Henry  was  asked,  on  his  return  from  Phila- 
delphia, whom  he  considered  the  greatest  man  in  the  congress, 
lie  replied  :  u  If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rutledge  of  South 
Carolina  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator;  but  if  you  speak  of 
solid  information  and  sound  judgment,  Colonel  Washington 
is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  that  floor." 

When  the  Congress  adjourned,  Washington  returned  to 
Mount  Vernon,  full  of  desires  for  a  reconciliation  with  the 


92  MOUNT    VERN  ON 

parent  government,  and  for  peacefnlness  in  the  bosom  of 
his  family  ;  yet  without  any  well-grounded  hope.  The  hand 
of  inexorable  circumstances  was  then  making  many  and  great 
changes  in  and  around  his  beautiful  home.  The  sunshine 
upon  the  fields,  the  forests  and  the  river  were  as  bright  as  ever; 
and  the  flowers  bloomed  as  beautifully,  and  the  birds  sang  as 
sweetly  as  ever,  when  another  spring  came,  like  the  angel  of 
the  resurrection,  to  call  forth  the  sleepers  in  the  bosom  of 
mother  earth.  But  in  the  mansion  death  had  left  the  memorial 
footsteps  of  its  recent  visit ;  and  the  discord  of  clashing  opin- 
ions had  almost  hushed  into  silence  the  sweet  voices  of  the 
social  circle  in  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  move.  His 
friend  of  Belvoir  was  a  loyalist  and  beyond  the  ocean ;  and 
that  fine  mansion,  wherein  the  Washingtons  and  Fairfaxes  had 
held  generous  intercommunication  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
was  soon  afterward  consumed  by  fire.  Its  owner  never  re- 
turned to  America,  and  the  social  intercourse  of  two  long-tried 
friends  was  closed  forever.  George  Washington  and  George 
William  Fairfax  never  met  again  on  the  earth. 

The  Congress  of  1774,  doubtful  concerning  reconciliation 
with  Great  Britain  upon  terms  to  which  the  colonists  could 
accede,  adjourned,  to  meet  again  at  the  same  place  on  the 
tenth  of  May  following,  unless  the  desired  redress  of  grievances 
should  speedily  take  place,  and  render  another  national  coun- 
cil unnecessary.  But  the  people,  taught  by  long  and  bitter 
experience,  expected  no  justice  from  a  blinded  ministry,  and 
prepared  for  inevitable  war.  They  aroused  themselves,  and 
organized  into  military  companies  for  the  purpose  of  discipline. 

Suddenly,  as  if  by  magic,  a  vast  army  was  formed.  It  was, 
as  we  have  elsewhere  observed,  "strong,  determined,  generous. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  93 

and  panting  for  action,  yet  invisible  to  the  superficial  observer. 
It  was  not  seen  in  the  camp,  the  field,  nor  the  garrison.  No 
drum  was  heard  calling  it  to  action  ;  no  trumpet  was  sounded 
for  battle.  It  was  like  electricity,  harmless  when  latent,  but 
terrible  when  aroused.  It  was  all  over  the  land.  It  was  at 
the  plough,  in  the  workshop,  and  in  the  counting-room. 
Almost  every  household  was  its  head-quarters,  and  every  roof 
its  tent.  It  bivouacked  in  every  chamber ;  and  mothers,  wives, 
sisters,  and  sweethearts  made  cartridges  for  its  muskets,  and 
supplied  its  commissariat.  It  was  the  old  story  of  Cadmus 
repeated  in  modern  history.  British  oppression  had  sown 
dragon's  teeth  all  over  the  land,  and  a  crop  of  armed  men 
were  ready  to  spring  up,  but  not  to  destroy  each  other."  * 

Washington,  always  covetous  of  rural  pursuits  and  the  quiet 
of  domestic  life,  returned  from  Philadelphia  with  the  intention 
of  resuming  them.  But  urgent  calls  to  public  duty  drew  him 
from  them.  The  volunteer  companies  of  his  state  sought  his 
counsel,  and  offered  him  the  general  leadership ;  and  he  went 
from  place  to  place,  reviewing  the  assembled  troops,  and 
imparting  wisdom  wrhich  he  had  learned  from  his  military 
experience.  Meanwhile,  his  old  companions  in  arms  came 
frequently  to  Mount  Yernon,  for  they  snuffed  the  smoke  of 
war  from  afar.  Among  these,  Doctors  Hugh  Mercer,  of  Fred- 
ricksburgh,  and  James  Craik,  of  Alexandria,  were  the  most 
welcome,  for  these  Washington  loved  much. 

Other  men  more  distinguished  also  made  frequent  visits  to 
Mount  Vernon.  Among  the  most  famous  of  these  were  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee  and  Major  Horatio  Gates,  both  of  whom  had 

*  Lossing's  Life  of  Washington,  i.  470. 


MOUNT     VKRNON 


been  officers  of  distinction  in  the  British  army,  and  were  tnen 
residents  in  Virginia.  These  frequently  accompanied  Wash- 
ington in  his  military  excursions ;  and  during  the  spring  of 
1775,  they  spent  much  time  under  his  roof. 


UKNKBAL    CHARLES    LKE. 


Lee  was  a  Welshman,  and  a  year  younger  than  Washington. 
He  possessed  fine  manly  physical  proportions,  and  a  fiery 
spirit  which  nothing,  at  times,  could  control.  He  had  been 
engaged  in  the  war  with  the  French  and  Indians  in  America, 
in  1756  and  a  few  succeeding  years;  and  the  Mohawks,  who 
created  him  a  chief  among  themselves,  gave  him  the  signifi- 
cant name  of  Soiling  Water.  Restless  and  ambitious,  he 
engaged  in  the  continental  wars  of  Europe,  wherever  he  could 
find  employment.  At  one  time  we  find  him  an  aide  to  the 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  95 

king  of  Poland,  and  then  a  companion  of  that  king's  ambas- 
sador to  Constantinople.  Then  we  see  him  in  England  assail- 
ing the  British  ministry  with  his  sarcastic  pen,  and  by  his  ill 
nature  arid  perverse  judgment,  shutting  every  door  to  his  own 
advancement.  Disappointed  and  still  restless,  he  came  to 
America  in  1773,  and  travelled  through  most  of  the  English 
provinces.  In  Virginia  he  met  Major  Gates,  and  was  induced 
by  that  gentleman  to  purchase  an  estate  near  him,  in  Berkeley 
county.  There  he  was  residing  when  the  war  for  independence 
was  fairly  kindling,  and  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  patriots 
with  a  zeal  that  commanded  their  greatest  admiration.  He 
entered  the  army  as  the  first  major-general  under  Washington, 
became  very  popular  with  the  great  body  of  the  people,  and 
for  awhile  disputed  a  place  in  their  attachment  with  Washing- 
ton himself.  His  ambition  soon  conquered  his  prudence,  and 
he  became  insolent  and  insubordinate  toward  his  superiors. 
With  apparent  collusion  with  the  enemy,  he  became  a  prisoner; 
endeavored,  while  a  captive,  to  betray  his  adopted  country ; 
was  restored  to  the  army  by  exchange,  but  soon  afterward  was 
suspended  from  command  because  of  bad  conduct  on  the  field 
of  Monmouth ;  and  died  in  Philadelphia  in  comparative 
poverty,  in  the  autumn  of  1782,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years. 
He  was  a  brilliant  man  in  many  things,  but  his  life  exhibited 
few  commendable  traits  of  character.  He  was  bad  in  morals 
and  manners;  profane  and  extravagant  in  language,  and  feared 
and  loved  neither  God  nor  man.  In  his  will  he  bequeathed 
his  soul  to  the  Almighty  and  his  body  to  the  earth,  saying: 
"  I  desire  most  earnestly  that  I  may  not  be  buried  in  any 
church  or  churchyard,  or  within  a  mile  of  any  Presbyterian  or 
Anabaptist  meeting-house;  for,  since  I  have  resided  in  this 


DC  MOUNT     YERNOX 

country,  I  have  kept  so  much  bad  company  when  living,  that 
I  do  not  choose  to  continue  it  when  dead.'1 

Major  Gates  was  three  years  the  senior  of  Washington,  and 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  natural  son  of  Horace  Walpole. 
He  was  an  officer  in  the  British  army  during  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  and  was  with  Braddock  in  the  battle  of  the 
Monongahela,  where  he  was  severely  wounded,  lie  accom- 


GSXERAL   HOHATIO    GATES. 


panied  General  Mockton  to  the  West  Indies  as  his  aide-de- 
camp, and  expected  great  preferment  after  the  campaign  was 
over,  as  he  was  the  bearer  to  the  king  of  the  tidings  of  the 
English  victory  at  Martinico.  He  was  disappointed,  and,  in 
1772,  he  sold  his  commission  of  major,  came  to  America,  and 
purchased  an  estate  in  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  beyond  the 
Blue  Ridge. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  97 

Gates  was  the  opposite  of  Lee  in  his  social  qualities,  being  a 
perfect  gentleman  in  his  deportment.  He,  also,  espoused  the 
republican  cause  at  the  kindling  of  the  war,  was  appointed  the 
first  adjutant-general  of  the  continental  army,  and  arose  to  the 
rank  of  major-general.  He  was  ambitious  and  vain ;  and, 
during  the  first  half  of  the  war,  was  seeking  to  take  the  place 
of  Washington  as  supreme  commander  of  the  American  armies. 

His  last  active  military  command  was  in  South  Carolina, 
in  the  summer  of  1780,  where  he  lost  his  whole  army.  He 
returned  to  his  estate  in  Virginia,  where  he  lived  until  1790, 
and  then  removed  to  a  farm  on  Manhattan  Island,  near  the 
city  of  New  York.  He  was  a  member  of  the  New  York 
legislature  one  term,  and  died  in  the  spring  of  1806,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

Washington  was  at  Mount  Vernon  only  a  few  weeks  at  a 
time,  from  the  summer  of  1774  until  his  retirement  from  the 
army  in  1783.  He  was  in  the  first  continental  Congress,  as 
we  have  observed,  during  the  autumn  of  1774;  was  absent 
upon  military  services  much  of  the  time  during  the  winter  of 
1775,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Assembly  in  the 
spring,  when  Patrick  Henry  made  his  famous  war  speech, 
which  was  closed  with  the  burning  words :  "  What  is  it  that 
gentlemen  wish  ?  What  would  they  have  ?  Is  life  so  dear  or 
peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and 
slavery?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God !  I  know  not  what  course 
others  may  take,  but  as  for  me,  GIVE  ME  LIBERTY  OR  GIVE  ME 
DEATH  !" 

With  these  words  of  Henry  ringing  in  his  ears,  Washington 
returned  to  Mount  Vernon.  and  prepared  for  a  journey  to 
Philadelphia,  there  to  take  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  Second 


98  M  0  U  N  T     V  K  R  N  0  N 

Continental  Congress.  Just  at  the  close  of  a  mild  April  day, 
while  he  and  his  neighbor,  Bryan  Fairfax,  with  Major  Gates, 
were  discussing  the  stirring  events  at  Williamsburg,  connected 
with  the  seizure  of  powder  belonging  to  the  colony,  by  the 
royal  governor,  and  the  bold  stand  taken  by  Patrick  Henry- 
events  which  were  then  arousing  every  republican  heart  in 
Virginia  to  action — a  messenger  came  in  haste  from  Alex- 
andria, bearing  intelligence  of  bloodshed  at  Lexington  and 
Concord.  That  intelligence  made  a  deep  but  widely  different 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  three  friends.  The  gentle 
Fairfax,  even  then  inclined  to  enter  the  gospel  ministry,  which 
he  afterward  adorned,  was  drawn,  by  the  ties  of  consanguinity 
and  ancestral  reverence,  to  the  side  of  the  parent  country.  He 
was  much  distressed  by  the  tidings  from  the  east,  for  he  per- 
ceived the  gathering  of  a  cloud  of  miseries  for  his  country,  and 
the  peril  of  all  pleasant  social  relations. 

Gates,  ambitious  of  military  glory,  and  eagerly  looking  for 
the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office,  for  which  lie  had  long 
played  the  sycophant  in  London,  wras  delighted  by  this  opening 
of  an  avenue  to  a  field  of  action  wherein  they  might  be  won ; 
while  Washington,  communing  with  the  intuitions  of  his  loftier 
spirit,  became  thoughtful  and  reserved,  and  talked  little,  but 
wisely,  on  the  subject.  But  he  resolved  nobly  and  firmly  to  go 
zealously  into  whatever  conflicts  might  arise  for  the  defence 
of  the  liberties  of  his  country.  All  regarded  the  event  as  the 
casting  away  of  the  scabbard,  as  the  severing  blow  to  colonial 
allegiance. 

These  friends  parted  company  on  the  following  day,  and  to- 
ward the  evening  of  the  4th  of  May,  Benjamin  Harrison,  one 
of  the  immortal  fiftv-six  who  afterward  signed  the  Declaration 


ANI-     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  99 

of  Independence,  came  to  Mount  Vernon,  supped,  lodged,  and 
breakfasted,  and  departed  with  AVashington,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  5th,  for  Philadelphia.  They  arrived  at  Chester  on 
the  9th,  and,  while  riding  toward  Philadelphia,  with  other 
southern  delegates,  were  met,  five  or  six  miles  from  the  city, 
by  a  cavalcade  of  five  hundred  gentlemen.  Nearer  the  city, 
they  were  met  by  military  companies,  and  by  these,  with  bands 
of  music,  were  escorted  into  and  through  the  city  "  with  great 
parade."  On  the  following  day,  the  new  England  delegates 
were  received  in  a  similar  manner  ;  and  thus,  in  the  midst  of 
the  homage  and  acclamations  of  the  people,  the  representatives 
of  thirteen  viceroyalties  assembled  to  confederate  in  the  great 
work  of  constructing  a  new  republic. 

With  the  sword  of  defence  in  one  hand,  and  the  olive-branch 
of  reconciliation  in  the  other,  the  Congress  went  on  in  their 
solemn  labors.  The  military  genius  and  experience  of  Wash- 
ington were  continually  acknowledged  by  his  being  placed  as 
chairman  of  all  the  committees  appointed  for  the  conduct  of 
military  affairs ;  and  to  him  was  entrusted  the  important  task 
of  preparing  rules  and  regulations  for  an  army,  and  devising 
measures  for  the  general  defence. 

Meanwhile,  a  large,  but  crude  and  ill-regulated  army,  had 
gathered  around  Boston,  and  was  keeping  the  British  regulars 
in  close  confinement  upon  that  little  peninsula.  It  possessed 
no  other  cohesion  than  that  derived  from  a  sense  of  mutual 
danger.  The  Congress  perceived  this,  and  resolved  to  con- 
solidate and  organize  it  by  adopting  it  as  a  Continental  army, 
with  a  commander-in-chief  and  assistant  general  officers.  That 
adoption  was  formally  made ;  and  on  Thursday,  the  15th  of 
June,  two  days  before  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  George 


100  MOUNT     VERNON 

Washington  was  chosen  commander-in-chief  of  "  all  the  con- 
tinental forces  raised  or  to  be  raised,  for  the  defence  of  Amer- 
ican liberty."  The  appointment  was  officially  anncwnced  to 
him  on  the  following  day,  and  modestly  accepted  ;  and  on  the 
18th  he  wrote  a  touching  letter  to  his  wife  on  the  subject,  tell- 
ing her  he  must  depart  immediately  for  the  camp ;  begging 
her  to  summon  all  her  fortitude,  and  to  pass  her  time  as  agree- 
ably as  possible ;  and  expressing  a  firm  reliance  upon  thai 
Providence  which  had  ever  been  bountiful  to  him,  not  doubt- 
ing that  he  should  return  safe  to  her  in  the  fall. 

But  he  did  not  so  return.  Darker  and  darker  grew  the 
clouds  of  war;  and,  during  more  than  seven  years,  Washington 
visited  his  pleasant  home  upon  the  Potomac  but  once,  and  then 
only  for  three  days  and  nights.  Mrs.  Washington  spent  the 
winter  in  camp  with  her  husband  ;  and  many  are  the  traditions 
concerning  he"  beauty,  gentleness,  simplicity,  and  industry, 
which  yet  linger  around  the  winter-quarters  of  the  venerated 
commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  Revolution.  For 
many  long  years  she  was  remembered  with  affection  by  the 
dwellers  at  Cambridge,  Morristown,  Valley  Forge,  Newburgh, 
and  New  Windsor.  When,  on  each  returning  spring,  she 
departed  for  her  home  on  the  Potomac,  the  blessings  of  thou- 
sands— soldiers  and  citizens — went  with  her,  for  she  was  truly 
loved  by  all. 

.  Pleasant  would  it  be  to  read  the  scores  of  letters  written  by 
Washington  to  his  charming  wife  during  all  that  campaigning 
period,  and  his  subsequent  services  in  civil  life.  That  pleasure 
can  never  be  enjoyed.  Only  one  letter  to  her — the  message 
informing  her  of  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  army 
-  —is  known  to  be  in  existence,  and  that,  with  one  to  her  son  on 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  101 

the  same  subject,  written  on  the  following  day,  is  carefully 
preserved  at  Arlington  House,  by  her  great-granddaughter, 
Mrs.  Mary  Custis  Lee.  Mrs.  Washington  destroyed  all  of 
her  husband's  other  letters  to  herself,  a  short  time  before  her 
death. 

It  is  not  our  design  to  follow  Washington  in  his  career  as  a 
soldier,  or  even  as  a  statesman,  for  in  these  his  field  of  action 
was  far  away  from  Mount  Vernon — the  object  of  our  illustra- 
tions. His  career  in  each  was  noble ;  and  even  in  his  defeats 
in  battle,  he  never  lost  a  particle  of  the  dignity  of  his  char- 
acter, nor  the  esteem  of  his  countrymen.  His  caution  and 
prudence  were  sometimes  misunderstood,  but  they  were  always 
found  to  be  the  guaranties  of  success.  For  nearly  nine  months 
he  cautiously  watched  the  British  army  in  Boston,  and  waited 
for  strength  sufficient  to  attack  it  writh  success,  while  the 
people,  and  even  the  Congress,  became  impatient  and  clamored 
for  battle.  At  length  the  proper  time  came,  and  with  skill 
and  energy  he  prepared  to  strike  an  annihilating  blow.  The 
enemy  saw  their  peril,  fled  to  their  ships,  and  escaped  to 
Halifax,  while  the  whole  continent  rang  with  the  praises  of 
Washington.  The  Congress  d-ecreed  a  gold  medal  to  the 
victor.  Duvivier,  of  Paris,  cut  the  die ;  and  to  Mount  Vernon 
the  glittering  testimonial  of  a  nation's  gratitude  was  afterward 
borne,  upon  which  was  inscribed :  "  THE  AMERICAN  CONGRESS 
TO  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  OF  ITS  ARMIES, 
THE  ASSERTORS  OF  FREEDOM  :  TlIE  ENEMY  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIMK 
PUT  TO  FLIGHT BOSTON  RECOVERED,  ITlTI  MARCH,  1776." 

Although  excessively  prudent,  Washington  was  ever  ready 
to  strike  a  blow  in  the  presence  of  greatest  peril,  when  his 
judgment  and  inclination  coalesced  in  recommending,  the  per- 


102 


MOUNT     VEKNON 


GOLD    MEDAL   AWARDED    TO    WASHINGTON    FOR   THE    DELIVERANCE    OF    BOSTON. 


formance  of  the  act.  We  see  him  with  a  handful  of  ill-dis- 
ciplined, ill-fed,  ill-clad  soldiers,  after  a  prudent  flight  of  three 
weeks  before  a  strong  pursuing  enemy,  crossing  a  rapid  river 
in  the  midst  of  floating  ice,  and  darkness,  and  driving  storm, 
and  smiting  a  band  of  mercenary  Germans  at  Trenton,  who 
had  been  hired  out  by  their  avaricious  princes  to  aid  the 
British  soldiery  in  butchering  their  fellow  subjects.  Victory 
followed  the  blow,  and  a  few  days  afterward  that  victory  was 
repeated  at  Princeton.  Again  thp  praises  of  Washington  were 
upon  every  lip.  The  great  Frederick  of  Prussia  declared  that 
the  achievements  of  the  American  leader  and  his  compatriots, 
between- the  twenty-fifth  of  December  1776,  and  the  fourth  of 
January,  1777 — a  space  of  ten  days — were  the  most  brilliant 
of  any  recorded  in  the  annals  of  military  action.  A  splendid 
flag,  taken  from  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  composed  of  two 
pieces  of  heavy  white  damask  silk,  bearing  devices  embroid- 
ered witli  gold  thread,  and  the  words  FOE  OUR  PRINCE  AND 
COUNTRY,  in  Latin,  exquisitely  wrought  in  needlework,  was 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


103 


presented  to  "Washington.  It  was  afterward  hung  up  in  the 
great  hall  at  Mount  Vernon,  but  only  on  one  occasion,  for 
Washington  was  careful 
never  to  make  even  the 
most  trivial  display  of  me- 
mentos of  his  own  valor. 
This  flag  was  his  first 
trophy  of  the  kind  in  the 
war  for  independence. 

And  all  through  the  war, 
prudence,  sagacity,  skill, 
energy,  and  great  wisdom, 
marked  the  acts  of  Wash- 
ington. His  last  battle 
was  at  Yorktown,  where 
another  trophy,  similar  to 
that  at  Trenton,  was  se- 
cured. It  was  the  flag  of  the 
seventh  British  regiment, 
made  of  heavy  twilled  silk, 
six  feet  in  length  and  five 
feet  four  inches  in  width.  The  ground  was  blue;  the  cen- 
tral stripe  of  the  cross  red;  the  marginal  ones  white.  In 
the  centre  was  a  crown,  and  beneath  it  a  garter,  with  the 
usual  inscription  in  Norman  French — Evil  be  to  him  who  evil 
thinketh — enclosing  a  full-blown  rose,  the  floral  emblem  of 
England.  This  flag,  with  another,  was  presented  to  Washing- 
ton by  a  resolution  of  the  Congress,  passed  ten  days  after  the 
victory,  and  was  hung  in  the  hall  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the 
single  occasion  referred  to.  It  had  been  sadly  tattered  during 


DESSIAN    FLAU    TAKEN    AT   TBENTON. 


104 


M  O  IT  N  T     V  K  II N  O  N 


the  conflict.  Until  lately  it  occupied  a  place  near  the  Hessian 
flag,  in  the  Museum  at  Alexandria,  where  they  were  de- 
posited by  the  late  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  and 


BRITISH    FLAG    TAKKN    A  I'    VOKKTOWX. 


appropriately  labeled  Alpha 
and  Omega — the  first  and 
the  last  of  the  trophies  won 
by  Washington. 

Lonely  was  the  mansion 
at  Mount  Vernon  without 
the  master  during  the  seven 
years  and  more  that  the  war 
lasted.  Yet  it  was  by  no 
means  deserted.  T^he  only 
child  of  Mrs.  Washington. 
John  Parke  Custis,  with  his 

wife  and  growing  family,  were  there  much  of  the  time,  for 
Washington  had  written  to  him  a  few  days  after  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  command  of  the  army  :  "At  any  time,  I  hope  it  is 
unnecessary  for  me  to  say,  that  I  am  always  pleased  with  your 
and  Nelly's  abidance  at  Mount  Vernon,  much  less  upon  this 
occasion,  when  I  think  it  absolutely  necessary  for  the  peace 
and  satisfaction  of  your  mother ;  a  consideration  which  I  have 
no  doubt  will  have  due  weight  with  you  both,  and  require  no 
arguments  to  enforce."  Neighbors  and  friends  also  came 
frequently  to  cheer  the  temporary  widowhood  of  the  mistress. 
Lund  Washington,  the  master's  relative  and  friend,  was  the 
faithful  manager  of  the  estate,  and  he  scrupulously  obeyed  the 
injunction  of  the  owner,  who  said :  "  Let  the  hospitality  of  the 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  105 

house,  with  respect  to  the  poor,  be  kept  up.  Let  no  one  go 
away  hungry.  If  any  of  this  kind  of  people  should  be  in 
want  of  corn,  supply  their  necessities,  provided  it  does  not 
encourage  them  in  idleness." 

Nothing  of  Importance,  aside  from  the  routine  of  plantation 
life,  occurred  at  Mount  Vernon  after  the  summer  of  1775, 
until  1781.  At  the  former  period,  Lord  Dunmore  and  his 
marauding  followers,  ascended  the  Potomac  as  far  as  Oceo- 
quan  Falls,  with  the  intention  of  making  Mrs.  Washington  a 
prisoner,  and  desolating  the  estates  of  Gunston  Hall  and 
Mount  Vernon.  The  Prince  William  militia  gathered  in 
larg^  numbers  to  oppose  him,  and  these,  aided  by  a  heavy 
storm,  frustrated  his  lordship's  designs,  and  he  sailed  down 
the  river,  after  destroying  some  mills  and  other  property. 

Early  in  September,  1781,  there  was  great  commotion  at 
Mount  Vernon,  greater  than  when,  a  few  months  before,  small 
British  armed  vessels  had  come  up  the  Potomac,  plundering 
and  destroying  on  every  hand.  One  of  these,  on  that  occasion, 
had  approached  Mount  Vernon  with  fire  and  sword,  and  Lund 
Washington  had  purchased  the  safety  of  the  estate  by  giving 
the  commander  refreshments  and  supplies.  For  this  the  mas- 
ter of  Mount  Vernon  rebuked  him,  saying,  "It  would  have 
been  a  less  painful  circumstance  to  me  to  have  heard  that,  in 
consequence  of  your  non-compliance  with  their  request,  they 
had  burned  my  house  and  laid  my  plantation  in  ruins." 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1781,  there  was  an  arrival  more 
startling  to  the  dwellers  upon  the  Mount  Vernon  estate  than 
that  of  an  armed  enemy  upon  the  neighboring  waters.  It  was 
the  unexpected  arrival  of  the  master  himself.  The  allied 
French  and  American  armies  were  then  on  their  march  toward 


106  MOUNT    VERNON 

Virginia,  to  assist  Lafayette  and  his  compatriots  in  driving  the 
invading  Cornwallis  from  that  state.  Washington  came  from 
Baltimore  late  at  night,  attended  only  by  Colonel  Humphreys 
(one  of  his  aides)  and  faithful  Billy.  They  Lad  left  the  Count 
de  Rochambeau  and  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux — one  at  Alex- 
andria, and  the  other  at  Georgetown — to  follow  them  in  the 
morning.  Yery  soon  the  whole  household  was  astir,  and  the 
news  flew  quickly  over  the  estate  that  the  master  had  arrived. 
At  early  dawn  the  servants  came  from  every  cabin  to  greet 
him,  and  many  looked  sorrowfully  upon  a  face  so  changed  by 
the  storms  of  successive  campaigns,  during  more  than  six  years 
that  he  had  been  absent. 

None  came  earlier  than  Bishop,  the  venerable  body-servant 
of  the  master  in  the  old  French  war,  who  was  now  too  old  to 
go  to  the  camp.  He  lived  near  the  mansion,  the  Nestor  of  the 
plantations,  and  was  overseer  of  one  of  the  farms.  No  doubt 
he  came,  as  was  his  custom  on  great  occasions,  fully  equipped 
in  his  regimentals,  made  after  the  fashion  of  George  the 
Second's  time,  to  greet  the  man  he  so  much  loved.  Bishop 
was  then  almost  eighty  years  of  age,  with  deep  furrows  upon 
his  cheeks,  a  few  gray  locks  upon  his  temples,  and  his  once 
manly  form  bent  gently  by  the  weight  of  years,  and  shrunken 
by  the  suns  of  nearly  fourscore  summers. 

On  the  morrow,  the  French  noblemen,  with  their  suites,  ar- 
rived— Rochambeau  first,  and  De  Chastellux  afterward — and 
all  but  the  chief  made  it  a  day  of  rest.  For  him  there  was  no 
repose.  He  was  not  permitted  to  pass  even  an  hour  alone  with 
his  wife.  Public  and  private  cares  were  pressing  heavily  upon 
him.  He  was  on  his  way  to  measure  strength  with  a  powerful 
enemy,  and  his  words  of  affection  were  tew  and  hurried.  All 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


107 


COL'M'    I>K    HOCUAMBKAII. 


the  morning  of  the  10th  he  was  closeted  with  his  manager,  and 
before  dinner  he  wrote  to  Lafayette  the  first  letter  that  he  had 
dated  at  Mount  Vernon  sinee  early  in  May,  1775,  saying,  '*  Wo 
are  thus  far  on  our  way  to  you.  The  Count  de  Rochambeau  has 
just  arrived.  General  Chastellux  will  be  here,  and  we  pro- 
pose, after  resting  to-morrow,  to  be  at  Fredericksburg  on  the 
night  of  the  12th.  The  13th  we  shall  reaeh  Xew  Castle  ;  and, 
the  next  day,  we  expect  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
at  your  encampment."  These  calculations  were  correct ;  they 
arrived  at  the  camp  of  Lafayette,  at  Williamsburg,  on  the 
evening  of  the  14th. 

Rochambeau  and  Chastellux  were  guests  worthy  of  such  a 
host.     The  former  was  of  a  noble  Vendome  family.     He  was 


108  MOUNT     VERNON 

of  medium  height,  slender  in  form,  and  then  fifty-six  years  of 
age.  He  had  been  aide-de-camp  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  five- 
and-thirty  years  be/ore,  and  had  gained  many  laurels  on  the 
fields  of  battle,  especially  on  that  of  Minden,  which  occurred  a 
few  months  after  Washington  had  taken  his  bride  to  Mount 
Yernon.  A  fine  picture  of  that  battle  hung  upon  the  walls  at 
Mount  Vernbn  for  many  years,  and  is  now  at  Arlington  House. 
Whether  it  was  there  to  delight  the  eyes  of  Rochambeau  on 
this  occasion  is  a  question  that  may  not  now  be  solved. 

Rochambeau  had  come  to  America  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army,  to  assist,  the  struggling  colonists  to  cast  off  the  British 
yoke.  He  came  with  the  title  of  lieutenant-general,  but, 
according  to  previous  arrangement  by  the  French  court,  he 
was  to  be  second  to  Washington  in  command.  He  assisted 
nobly  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  where,  little  more  than  a 
month  after  this  visit  at  Mount  Vernon,  Cornwallis  and  a 
large  army  surrendered  to  the  allied  forces.  He  returned  to 
France,  was  made  a  field-marshal  by  the  king,  but  wras  called 
to  much  suffering  during  the  French  Revolution.  Bonaparte 
granted  him  a  pension  and  the  cross  of  grand  officer  of  the 
legion  of  honor,  in  1803.  Four  years  afterward  he  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-two. 

De  Cliastellux  was  a  much  younger  man  than  Rochambeau, 
heavier  in  person,  very  vivacious,  fond  of  company,  and  exhib- 
ited all  the  elegances  of  manner  of  the  older  French  nobility, 
to  which  class  he  belonged.  He  came  to  America  with  Roch- 
ambeau, but  seems  not  to  have  been  confined  to  the  army, 
though  bearing  the  title  of  major-general ;  for  during  the  two 
years  he  was  here,  he  travelled  very  extensively,  and  made 
notes  and  observations.  These  he  printed  on  board  the  French 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


109 


fleet — only  twenty-four  copies — for  distribution  among  liia 
friends  ;  but  a  few  years  afterward  they  were  translated  and 
published  in  two  volumes,  by  an  English  traveller. 


MAKCjriS    UK    ClIASTKLI.lrX. 


De  Chastellux  was  the  life  of  every  company  into  which  he 
was  introduced,  while  in  this  country,  and  he  left  a  very 
pleasant  impression  at  Mount  Vernon.  In  the  library  there, 
where  he  was  entertained  in  the  autumn  of  1781,  Washington 
wrote  to  him  a  playful  letter  in  the  spring  of  1787,  after 
receiving  from  the  marquis  an  account  of  his  marriage  to  an 
accomplished  lady,  a  relative  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  "  I 
saw,"  wrote  Washington,  "by  the  eulogium  you  often  made 


110  MOUNT     VERNON 

on  the  happiness  of  domestic  life  in  America,  that  you  had 
swallowed  the  bait,  and  that  you  would  as  surely  be  taken, 
one  day  or  another,  as  that  you  were  a  philosopher  and  soldier. 
So  your  day  has  at  length  come.  1  am  glad  of  it,  with  all  my 
heart  and  soul.  It  is  quite  good  enough  for  you.  Now  you 
are  well  served  for  coming  to  fight  in  favor  of  the  American 
rebels,  all  the  way  across  the  Atlantic  ocean,  by  catching  that, 
terrible  contagion — domestic  felicity — which,  like  the  smallpox 
or  plague,  a  man  can  have  only  once  in  his  life." 

De  Chastellux  died  in  1793,  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible 
storm  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  by  it  the  fortunes  of 
himself  and  wife  seem  to  have  been  swept  away,  for  his  widow 
applied  to  Washington,  two  years  afterward,  for  an  allowance 
from  our  government,  on  account  of  the  services  of  her 
husband,  who  was  in  active  military  duty  near  New  York, 
and  was  in  the  siege  at  Yorktown.  Her  application  was 
unsuccessful. 

On  the  second  day  after  Washington's  arrival  at  Mount 
Vernon — the  eleventh  of  September — the  fourth  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine — the  mansion,  then  not  nearly  so 
large  as  now,  was  crowded  with  guests ;  and  at  dinner  were 
met  gentlemen  and  ladies  from  the  country  for  miles  around, 
who  had  not  been  at  the  festive  board  with  the  master  of  the 
feast  since  the  war  broke  out.  And  there  were  children,  too — 
tiny  children,  whom  the  master  loved  as  his  own,  for  they 
\vere  the  grandchildren  of  his  wife.  There  were  four  of  these. 
The  eldest  was  a  beautiful  girl,  five  years  old,  who  afterward 
married  a  nephew  of  Lord  Ellenborongh ;  and  the  youngest 
was  a  boy-baby,  only  six  months  old,  who  was  afterward 
adopted  as  the  child  of  Washington,  became  one  of  the 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  Ill 

executors  of  his  will,  and  lived  until  1857.  These  were  the 
children  of  John  Parke  Custis  and  his  fair  young  wife,  Eleanor 
Calvert,  and  had  all  been  born  during  the  absence  of  the 
master  from  his  home  at  Mount  Yernon. 

Here  let  us  pause  a  moment  and  look  with  the  eye  of  faith 
in  the  words  of  a  fellow  man,  upon  the  person  of  the  great 
patriot  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  feast  on  that  day.  The  year 
before,  a  writer  in  the  London  Chronicle  (an  anti-ministerial 
paper),  who  had  seen  Washington,  thus  vividly  described  him : 

"  General  Washington  is  now  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of 
his  age.  He  is  a  tall,  well-made  man,  rather  large-boned,  and 
has  a  genteel  address.  His  features  are  manly  and  bold ;  his 
eyes  of  a  bluish  cast  and  very  lively ;  his  hair  a  deep  brown  ; 
his  face  rather  long,  and  marked  with  the  smallpox ;  his  com- 
plexion sunburnt,  and  without  much  color.  His  countenance 
sensible,  composed,  and  thoughtful.  There  is  a  remarkable  air 
of  dignity  about  him,  with  a  striking  degree  of  gracefulness. 
He  has. an  excellent  understanding,  without  much  quickness; 
is  strictly  just,  vigilant,  and  generous;  an  affectionate  husband, 
a  faithful  friend,  a  father  to  the  deserving  soldier;  gentle  in 
his  manners,  in  temper  reserved ;  a  total  stranger  to  relig- 
ious prejudices ;  in  morals  irreproachable ;  and  never  known 
to  exceed  the  bounds  of  the  most  rigid  temperance.  In  a 
word,  all  his  friends  and  acquaintances  allow  that  no  man  ever 
united  in  his  own  person  a  more  perfect  alliance  of  the  virtues 
of  a  philosopher  with  the  talents  of  a  general.  Candor,  sin- 
cerity, affability,  and  simplicity  seem  to  be  the  striking  features 
of  his  character;  and,  when  occasion  offers,  the  power  of  display- 
ing the  most  determined  bravery  and  independence  of  spirit." 

Domestic  felicity  and  social  enjoyment  were,  at  that  time, 


112  MOUNT    VERNON 

secondary  considerations  with  Washington,  and,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  12th  of  September,  lie  departed,  witli  all  his  mili- 
tary guests,  from  his  delightful  dwelling-place,  journeyed  to 
Fredericksburg  to  embrace  his  aged  mother  and  receive  her 
blessing,  and  then  hastened  on  toward  Yorktown,  where  Corn- 
wallis  hud  intrenched  himself  with  a  view  of  overrunning 
Virginia. 

There  was  great  sorrow  at  Mount  Yernon  on  the  morning  of 
the  departure  of  the  master.  It  was  a  grief  to  the  devoted  wife 
to  part  so  soon  from  her  husband,  who  was  on  his  way  to  battle, 
perhaps  to  death  ;  but  more  poignant  was  her  grief  as  a  mother, 
for  John  Parke  Custis,  her  only  surviving  child,  in  whom  her 
fondest  earthly  affections  were  centred,  followed  Washington 
to  the  field  as  his  aide-de-camp.  He  was  then  in  the  flush  of 
manhood,  eight-and-twenty  years  of  age,  and  full  of  promise. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and  very 
popular  wherever  known.  He  now  went  out  to  battle,  for  the 
first  time,  leaving  his  wife  and  children  and  his  fond  mother 
in  the  pleasant  home  at  Mount  Vernon,  with  every  material 
comfort  around  them,  but  with  hearts  filled  with  sadness,  and 
spirits  agitated  with  anxiety  and  apprehension. 

Oh,  how  eagerly  did  those  wives  and  mothers  at  Mount  Ver- 
non watch  for  the  courier  who  daily  brought  intelligence  from 
the  camp!  At  length  there  came  a  messenger  with  tidings 
which  produced  mingled  joy  and  alarm.  He  came  to  tell  of 
a  triumph  at  Yorktown,  and  of  mortal  sickness  at  Eltham, 
thirty  miles  from  the  field  where  victory  had  been  won.  At 
Yorktown,  the  allied  armies,  after  a  siege  of  twrelve  days,  had 
compelled  Cornwall  is  to  surrender,  with  all  his  army,  seven 
thousand  strong. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  113 

Joy  was  awakened  all  over  the  land  as  intelligence  of  this 
glorious  event  was  spread,  by  swift  couriers,  from  hamlet  to 
hamlet,  from  village  to  village,  from  city  to  city.  The  name 
of  Washington  was  upon  every  lip,  as  the  Benefactor,  the  Lib- 
erator, the  Saviour  of  his  country.  And  there  was  peculiar  joy 
and  pride  at  Mount  Yernon,  when,  at  early  dawn  on  a  frosty 
morning,  a  messenger  brought  the  intelligence  that  prophesied 
of  peace  and  the  speedy  return  of  the  loved  ones  to  the  safety 
and  repose  of  domestic  life. 

But,  as  we  have  said,  the  same  messenger  brought  intelligence 
that  produced  serious  alarm,  and  preparations  were  immediately 
made  at  Mount  Yernon,  for  a  journey.  Young  Custis  was  very 
sick  with  camp  fever  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Bassett,  the  husband 
of  his  mother's  sister,  at  Eltham.  His  mother  and  wife  were 
soon  upon  the  road ;  and,  in  an  agony  of  suspense,  they  urged 
the  postillion  to  increase  the  speed  of  his  horses.  When  they 
arrived  at  Eltham,  all  hope  for  the  loved  one's  recovery  had 
vanished. 

Washington  had  sent  his  old  and  faithful  friend,  Doctor 
Craik,  to  attend  the  sufferer,  and  as  soon  as  his  arrangements 
at  Yorktown  could  be  completed,  the  chief  followed.  He 
arrived  at  Eltham  "  time  enough"  he  wrrote  to  Lafayette,  "  to 
see  poor  Mr.  Custis  breathe  his  last."  In  that  hour  the  young 
wife  was  made  a  widow,  and  the  mistress  of  Mount  Yernon  a 
childless  woman.  The  great  man  bowed  his  head  in  deep  sor- 
row, while  his  tears  flowed  freely.  Then  he  spoke  soothing 
words  to  the  widowed  mother,  and  said,  "  Your  two  younger 
children  I  adopt  as  iny  own."  These  were  Eleanor  Parke 
Custis  and  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  former  two 
years  and  six  months  of  age,  and  the  latter  only  six  months. 

8 


114 


MOUNT     VERNON 


They  both  lived  beyond  the  age  of  threescore  and  ten,  arid 
Eleanor  was  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  brilliant 
women  of  her  day.  She  married  Lawrence  Lewis,  the  favorite 
nephew  of  Washington.  The  nuptials  were  celebrated  on  the 


KLKA.NOK    I'AIIKIv    CUSI'IS. 


chiefs  birthday,  1799.  Three  days  before,  "Washington,  as  her 
foster-father,  wrote  from  Mount  Vernon  to  the  clerk  of  Fairfax 
county  court,  saying : 

"  SIR  :  You  will  please  to  grant  a  license  for  the  marriage  of 
Eleanor  Parke  Custis  with  Lawrence  Lewis,  and  this  shall  be 
your  authority  for  so  doing." 

The  portrait  of  this  beautiful  lady,  from  which  our  engraving 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  115 

is  copied,  was  painted  at  Philadelphia  by  Gilbert  Stuart.  It 
adorned  the  mansion  at  Mount  Yernon  for  several  years,  and 
is  preserved  with  care  among  the  Washington  treasures  of 
Arlington  House. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1781,  Washington  again  visited  Mount 
Vernon  for  a  brief  season.  It  was  when  he  was  on  his  journey 
to  Philadelphia,  in  November,  bearing  the  laurels  of  a  victor. 
He  \vas  accompanied  as  far  as  Fredericksburg  by  a  large 
retinue  of  American  and  French  officers ;  and  there,  after  an 
interview  with  his  mother,  he  attended  a  ball  given  in  honor 
of  the  occasion.  The  aged  matron  went  with  him  to  the 
assembly,  and  astonished  the  French  officers  by  the  plainness 
of  her  apparel  and  the  quiet  simplicity  of  her  manners,  for  they 
expected  to  see  the  mother  of  the  great  chief  distinguished  by 
a  personal  display  such  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  be- 
hold among  the  families  of  the  great  in  their  own  country. 
They  thought  of  the  Dowager  Queen  of  France,  of  the  brilliant 
Marie  Antoinette,  and  the  high-born  dames  of  the  court  of 
Louis  the  Sixteenth,  and  could  not  comprehend  the  vision. 

Washington  retired  with  his  mother  from  the  gay  scene  at 
an  early  hour,  for  there  was  grief  in  his  heart  because  of  the 
death  of  his  beloved  Custis ;  and,  the  next  morning,  attended 
by  two  aides  and  Billy,  he  rode  to  Mount  Vernon.  His  stay 
there  was  brief.  Public  duties  beckoned  him  forward.  "  I 
shall  remain  but  a  few  days  here,"  he  wrote  to  General  Greene, 
"  and  shall  proceed  to  Philadelphia,  when  I  shall  attempt  to 
stimulate  Congress  to  the  best  improvement  of  our  late  success, 
by  taking  the  most  vigorous  and  effectual  measures  to  be  ready 
for  an  early  and  decisive  campaign  the  next  year." 

Happily  for  the  country,  no  other  campaign  of  active  mili- 


116  MOUNT     VERNON 

tary  operations  was  needed  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months, 
the  war  was  virtually  at  an  end.  The  desire  for  peace,  which 
had  long  burned  in  the  bosom  of  the  British  people,  now  found 
such  potential  expression,  as  to  be  heeded  by  the  British 
ministry.  The  intelligence  of  the  fate  of  Cornwallis  and  his 
army  had  fallen  with  all  the  destructive  energy  of  a  bomb- 
shell in  the  midst  of  the  war  party  in  parliament/  When  Lord 
North,  the  premier,  heard  of  it,  he  paced  the  room  violently, 
and,  throwing  his  arms  wildly  about,  exclaimed,  u  O  God  !  it 
is  all  over !  it  is  all  over !"  The  stoutest  declaimer  in  favor  of 
bayonets  and  gunpowder,  Indian  and  German  mercenaries,  as 
fit  instruments  for  enslaving  a  free  people,  began  to  talk  of  the 
expediency  of  peace ;  and  at  length,  by  mutual  consent,  com- 
missioners were  appointed  by  the  contending  parties  to  treat  for 
peace  on  the  basis  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 
They  were  successful;  and,  early  in  the  spring  of  1783,  the 
joyful  news,  that  a  treaty  had  been  signed  at  Paris,  reached 
America,  by  the  French  ship  Triomphe,  sent  for  the  purpose, 
by  Count  d'Estaing,  at  the  request  of  Lafayette. 

Washington  was  then,  with  hie  wife,  at  Newburgh,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  continental  army,  happy  in  having  just  frus- 
trated a  scheme  of  some  officers  to  produce  a  general  mutiny 
among  the  discontented  soldiers.  The  intelligence-  came  to 
him  in  dispatches  from  Robert  R.  Livingston,  the  Secretary  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  also  in  a  letter  from  Alexander  Hamilton, 
and  other  New  York  delegates  in  Congress.  It  was  hailed 
by  the  chief  with  joy,  and  he  immediately  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  Governor  Clinton,  which  is  copied  from  the 
original  manuscript,  now  in  the  archives  of  the  state  of  New 
York: 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  117 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  March  27,  1783. 

"  DEAK  SIR  : — I  take  the  first  moment  of  forwarding  to  your 
Excellency  the  dispatches  from  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  which  accompany  this.  They  contain,  I  presume,  all 
the  intelligence  respecting  Peace,  on  which  great  and  glorious 
event  permit  me  to  congratulate  you  with  the  greatest 
sincerity." 

Upon  the  envelope  bearing  the  superscription,  Washing 
ton  wrrote'  in  large  letters,  with  a  broad  dash  under  it — 
PEACE. 

What  a  glorious  word  !  What  joy  must  have  filled  the 
heart  of  the  commander-in-chief  when  he  wrote  that  word ! 
What  dreams  of  repose  upon  the  Potomac,  in  the  quiet  shades 
of  his  beautiful  home  must  have  been  presented  to  his  vision 
at  that  time !  But  many  weary  months  were  yet  to  intervene 
before  he  could  see  his  beloved  Mount  Vernon. 

It  was  not  until  the  1st  of  November  following  that  all  ar- 
rangements for  the  departure  of  the  British  army  from  our 
shores  were  completed. 

The  American  army,  by  a  general  order  of  Congress,  on 
the  3d  of  November,  was  disbanded,  except  a  small  force 
retained  under  a  definite  enlistment,  until  a  peace  establish- 
ment should  be  organized  ;  and,  on  the  25th  of  that  month, 
the  British  evacuated  the  city  of  New  York — their  last 
resting-place  upon  the  soil  of  the  United  States — went  on 
board  their  ships,  and  sailed  for  Nova  Scotia  and  Europe, 
with  a  large  number  of  loyalists. 

On    the   4th    of  December   Washington   parted    with    his 
officers  at  Fraunces'  tavern  in  New  York,  and  then  proceeded 


118  MOUNT     VERNOtf 

toward  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  sitting,  to  resign  into 
their  hands  his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  which  had  been  given  him  eight 
years  and  six  months  before.  He  stopped  at  Philadelphia, 
and  presented  his  accounts  to  the  proper  fiscal  officers,  and 
arrived  at  Annapolis  on  Friday,  the  19th,  where  he  was 
(joined  by  Mrs.  Washington  and  many  warm  personal  friends. 
On  Monday  he  was  present  at  a  dinner  ordered  by  the  Con- 
gress, at  which  more  than  two  hundred  persons  were  seated ; 
and  that  evening  he  opened  a  grand  ball  given  in  his  honor, 
with  Mrs.  James  Macubbin,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women 
of  her  time. 

At  twelve  o'clock  on  the  23d  Washington  entered  the 
hall  of  Congress  in  the  old  State  House  at  Annapolis,  ac- 
cording to  previous  arrangement,  and,  in  the  presence  of  a 
great  concourse  of  people,  presented  his  resignation  to  General 
Thomas  Mifflin,  the  president  of  that  body,  accompanying  the 
act  by  a  brief  speech.  This  was  responded  to  by  Mifflin.  The 
great  Leader  of  the  Continental  Armies,  now  a  private  citizen, 
retired,  followed  by  the  audience ;  and  the  curtain  fell  upon 
the  last  solemn  act  in  the  great  drama  of  the  war  for  independ- 
ence. 

Washington  now  hastened  to  Mount  Vernon,  accompanied 
by  many  friends,  as  an  escort  of  honor,  among  whom  was 
Colonel  Walker,  one  of  the  aides  of  the  Baron  Steuben,  by 
whose  hand  he  sent  a  letter  to  Governor  Clinton,  the  first 
which  he  wrote  at  his  home  after  his  retirement.  In  it  he 
said :  "  The  scene  is  at  last  closed.  I  am  now  a  private  citizen 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  I  feel  myself  eased  of  a  load  of 
public  care.  I  hope  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  in 


AND  'ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


119 


cultivating  the  affections  of  good  men,  and  in  the  practice  of 
the  domestic  virtues." 

It  was  on  Christmas  eve,  1783,  that  Washington,  a  private 
citizen,  arrived  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  laid  aside  forever  the 


WASHINGTON  S   MILITARY  CLOTHES. 


military  clothes  which  he  had  worn  perhaps  through  more  than 
half  the  campaigns  of  the  war  just  ended.  Around  them  clus- 
tered many  interesting  associations,  and  they  were  preserved 
with  care  during  the  remaining  sixteen  years  of  his  life.  And 
they  are  still  preserved,  in  a  condition  almost  as  perfect  as 
when  the  illustrious  owner  hung  them  in  his  wardrobe  for  the 


120  MOUNT    V  15 UN  ON 

last  time.  They  are  in  a  glass  case,  with  other  mementos  of 
the  FATHER  OF  ms  COUNTRY,  in  the  great  model  hall  of  the 
Patent  Office  at  Washington  city.  The  coat  is  made  of  deep 
blue  cloth,  faced  with  buff,  with  large  plain  gilt  buttons.  The 
waistcoat  and  breeches  aie  made  of  the  same  kind  of  buff 
cloth  as  the  facings  of  the  coat. 

On  the  same  occasion,  Washington  laid  aside  his  battle- 
sword  which  he  had  worn  throughout  all  the  later  years  of 
the  war.  It,  too,  hung  at  Mount  Vernon  for  almost  twenty 
years,  and  is  carefully  preserved  in  the  same  glass  case  in  the 
Patent  Office.  It  is  a  kind  of  hanger,  incased  in  a  black 
leather  scabbard,  with  silver  mountings.  The  handle  is  ivory, 
colored  a  pale  green,  and  wound  in  spiral  grooves  with  thin 
silver  wire.  It  was  manufactured  by  J.  Bailey,  in  Fishkill, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  and  has  the  maker's  name 
engraved  upon  the  blade.  The  belt  is  of  white  leather, 
mounted  with  silver,  and  was  doubtless  used  by  Washington 
in  the  old  French  war,  for  upon  a  silver  plate  attached  to  it 
is  engraved  "  1757." 

With  this  sword  is  a  long,  knotty,  black  cane,  with  a  golden 
head,  which  was  bequeathed  to  Washington  by  Doctor  Frank- 
lin, in  the  following  clause  in  the  codicil  to  his  will : 

"  My  fine  crab-tree  walking-stick,  with  a  gold  head  curiously 
wrought  in  the  form  of  a  cap  of  liberty,  I  give  to  my  friend, 
and  the  friend  of  mankind,  General  Washington.  If  it  were 
a  sceptre,  he  has  merited  it,  and  would  become  it.  It  was  a 
present  to  me  from  that  excellent  woman,  Madame  de  For- 
bach,  the  dowager  Duchess  of  Deuxponts,  connected  with  some 
verses  which  should  go  with  it." 

These  "verses"  have  been  lost,  and  for  them  we  will  substi- 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


121 


tute  the  beautiful  ode,  by  Morris,  alluding  to  these  precious 
relics,  entitled 


"THE  SWORD  AND  THE  STAFF. 


THE    SWORD    ANL> 
TUB  STAFF. 


"  The  sword  of  the  Hero ! 

The  staff  of  the  Sage ! 
"Whose  valor  and  wisdom 

Are  stamp'd  on  the  age ! 
Time-hallowed  mementos 

Of  those  who  have  riven 
The  sceptre  from  tyrants, 

'  The  lightning  from  heaven.' 

n. 

"This  weapon,  0  Freedom! 

Was  drawn,  by  thy  son, 

And  it  never  was  sheath'd 

Till  the  battle  was  won  I 

No  stain  of  dishonor 

Upon  it  we  see  I 
'Twas  never  surrerider'd — 
Except  to  the  free  1 

in. 
'  While  Fame  claims  the  hero 

And  patriot  sage, 
Their  names  to  emblazon 

On  History's  page, 
No  holier  relics 

Will  Liberty  hoard, 
Than  FRANKLIN'S  staff,  guarded 

By  WASHINGTON'S  sword." 


In  the  same  glass  case  are  other  interesting  relics  of  Wash- 
ington, the  most  conspicuous  of  which  is  his  camp-chest,  an 
old-fashioned  hair  trunk,  twenty-one  inches  in  length,  fifteen 
in  width,  and  ten  in  depth,  filled  with  the  table  furniture  used 
by  the  commander-iii-chief  during  the  war.  The  compart- 


MOUNT     VBRKOX 


nients  are  so  ingeniously  arranged,  that  they  contain  a  great 
number  of  articles  in  a  small  space.  These  consist  of  a 
gridiron ;  a  tea  and  coffee  pot ;  three  tin  saucepans  (one 


WASHINGTON'S  CAMP-CHEST. 

movable  handle  being  used  for  all) ;  five  small  glass  flasks, 
used  for  honey,  salt,  coffee,  port-wine,  and  vinegar ;  three  large 
tin  meat  dishes ;  sixteen  plates ;  two  knives  and  five  forks ;  a 
candlestick  and  tinder-box ;  tin  boxes  for  tea  and  sugar,  and 
five  small  bottles  for  pepper  and  other  materials  for  making 
soup. 

Washington  alluded  to  the  tin  plates  in  this  camp-chest,  in 
the  following  letter  to  Doctor  John  Cochran,  surgeon-general 
of  the  northern  department  of  the  continental  army,  written  at 
West  Point  on  the  16th  of  August,  1779  : 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  123 

"  DKAK  DOCTOR  : — I  have  asked  Mrs.  Cochran  and  Mrs. 
Livingston  to  dine  with  me  to-morrow  ;  but  am  I  not  in  honor 
bound  to  apprise  them  of  their  fare?  As  I  hate  deception, 
even  where  the  imagination  only  is  concerned,  I  will.  It  is 
needless  to  premise  that  my  table  is  large  enough  to  hold  the 
ladies.  Of  this  they  had  ocular  proof  yesterday.  To  say  how 
it  is  usually  covered  is  rather  more  essential ;  and  this  shall  be 
the  purport  of  my  letter. 

"Since  our  arrival  at  this  happy  spot,  we  have  had  a  ham, 
sometimes  a  shoulder  of  bacon,  to  grace  the  head  of  the  table ; 
a  piece  of  roast  beef  adorns  the  foot ;  and  a  dish  of  beans,  or 
greens,  almost  imperceptible,  decorates  the  centre.  When  the 
cook  has  a  mind  to  cut  a  figure,  which  I  presume  will  be  the 
case  to-morrow,  we  have  two  beef-steak  pies,  or  dishes  of 
crabs,  in  addition,  one  on  each  side  of  the  centre  dish,  dividing 
the  space  and  reducing  the  distance  between  disli  and  dish  to 
about  six  feet,  which,  without  them,  would  be  nearly  twelve 
feet  apart.  Of  late  he  has  had  the  surprising  sagacity  to  dis- 
cover that  apples  will  make  pies ;  and  it  is  a  question  if,  in  the 
violence  of  his  efforts,  we  do  not  get  one  of  apples,  instead  of 
having  both  of  beef-steaks.  If  the  ladies  can  put  up  with  such 
entertainment,  and  will  submit  to  partake  of  it  on  plates  once 
tin  but  now  iron  (not  become  so  by  the  labor  of  scouring),  I 
shall  be  happy  to  see  them ;  and  am,  dear  doctor,  vours,  &c., 

"  GEO.  WASHINGTON." 

Later  in  the  war,  Washington  had  a  pair  of  plain  silver 
goblets,  with  his  crest  engraven  upon  them,  which  he  used  in 
his  tent.  These  were  the  only  examples  of  a  departure  from 
that  rigid  economy  which  he  exhibited  in  all  his  personal 


124 


MOUNT     VERNON 


SILVER   CAMP-GOBLKT. 


arrangements  while  in  the  army,  not  because  lie  was  parsimo- 
nious, but  because  he  wished  to  set  an  example  of  plainness 
and  self-denial  to  all  around  him.  These  goblets  are  now  used 

in  the  family  of  Colonel  Lee  at 
Arlington  House. 

What  a  contrast  do  these 
simple  table  arrangements,  and, 
indeed,  all  the  movements  and 
appointments  of  the  great  Re- 
publican Leader,  present  to 
those  of  the  generals  of  the  old 
world,  and  of  those  of  antiquity 
in  particular,  whose  achieve- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  placed  in  the  scale  of  just 
appreciation,  are  small  compared  with  his. 

After  the  victory  at  Yorktown,  the  marquee  and  tent  used 
by  Washington  were  folded  up  and  placed  in  the  leathern 
portmanteau  in  which  they  were  carried,  and  were  never  again 
spread  upon  the  field  in  camp,  siege,  or  battle.  They  wen 
made  by  Captain  Moulder,  of  Philadelphia,  who  commanded  a 
corps  of  artillery  in  the  battle  at  Princeton.  The  marquee 
was  used  for  general  purposes — for  the  reception  of  visitors, 
consultations  of  officers,  dining,  et  cetera — and  the  smaller 
tent  was  for  more  private  uses.  In  the  latter  Washington 
retired  for  meditation,  and  wrote  his  letters  and  dispatches  for 
his  secretaries  to  copy ;  and  in  one  part  of  it  was  a  dormitory, 
wherein  he  slept.  It  composed  the  private  apartment  of  his 
canvas  dwelling  upon  the  field,  and  few  were  allowed  to 
enter  it. 

What  a  history  is  involved  in  the  experience  of  that  tent! 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  125 

How  many  important  dispatches  were  written  within  it, 
upon  the  little  writing-case,  or  portfolio,  that  was  presented  to 
President  Taylor  by  Washington's  adopted  son,  and  by  him 
deposited,  with  other  mementos  of  the  great  Leader,  in  the 


WASHINGTON  S    TRAVELLING    WRITING-CASE 


Patent  Office,  where  it  is  well  preserved !  How  many  anxious 
hours  did  that  great  Leader  pass  beneath  the  narrow  canopy 
of  that  tent?  How  often,  during  that  long  war,  did  the  forms 
of  Heed,  and  Harrison,  and  Hamilton,  and  Tilghman,  and 
Meade,  and  Humphreys  darken  the  door  of  that  tent  as  they 
passed  in  and  out  with  messages  and  dispatches  to  and  from 
the  illustrious  chief ! 

And  in  the  large  marquee,  what  a  noble  band  of  mighty 
men — mighty  in  moral  force — among  the  noblest  the  world 
ever  saw — were  gathered  in  council  from  time  to  time,  and 
determined  those  movements  which  achieved  the  independence 
of  these  states !  In  it,  too,  many  distinguished  men  sat  at  the 
table  of  thq-  chief — members  of  the  old  congresses ;  foreigners 
of  note  in  diplomacy  and  war ;  and  last,  Cornwallis  as  captive 
and  guest,  after  his  humiliation  at  Yorktown.  It  was  quite 
spacious,  and,  when  fully  spread,  one  hundred  guests  might 
conveniently  dine  beneath  its  ample  roof. 

That  marquee  and  tent,  wrapped  in  the  old  portmanteau, 
with  the  poles  and  cords  as  they  were  taken  from  the  battle- 


126  MOUNT     VERNON 

field,  are  at  Arlington  House.  The  former  has  been  spread 
occasionally  for  peaceful  purposes.  For  several  years  Mr. 
Oustis,  who  was  much  interested  in  the  improvement  of  the 
breeds  of  sheep,  had  annual  gatherings  of  the  friends  of 
agriculture  and  manufactures  at  a  fine  spring  on  his  estate, 
near  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  in  the  early  days  of  May.  On 


WASHINGTON'S  TKNTS  IN  THEIR  PORTMANTEAUX. 

these  occasions  the  old  marquee  would  be  erected,  and  some- 
times nearly  two  hundred  guests  would  assemble  under  it  to 
partake  of  refreshments.  These  "  sheep-shearings  at  Arlington 
Spring  "  are  remembered  with  pleasure  by  the  surviving  parti- 
cipants. 

When  Lafayette  was  in  this  country,  in  1824  and  '25,  as 
the  guest  of  the  nation,  that  marquee  was  used  at  Baltimore  by 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
Illustrious  Friend  as  the  guest  of  that  fraternity — a  fraternity 
of  which  he  had  been  a  member  ever  since  its  formation  on 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  more  than  forty  years  before.  On 
that  occasion  Colonel  John  Eager  Howard,  one  of  the  heroes 
of  the  Cowpens,  presided ;  and  Charles  Carroll,  who  soon  after- 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  127 

waid  had  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  last  survivor  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  a  guest. 
And  twice  since  that  memorable  reception,  that  war-tent,  so 
often  spread  upon  the  line  of  march  and  on  the  battle-field, 
has  been  used  in  the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  On  these 
occasions  it  was  pitched  in  green  fields  in  the  midst  of  beauty 
and  repose,  and  thousands  came  and  willingly  paid  liberal 
tribute  for  the  privilege  of  sitting  under  the  TENT  OF  WASHING- 
TON. Two  churches  were  erected  with  the  proceeds. 

We  have  just  alluded  to  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  It 
is  a  fraternity  originally  composed  of  officers  of  the  Revolution, 
and  was  formed  a  little  while  before  the  disbanding  and  dis- 
persion of  the  Continental  Army.  Its  chief  object  was  the 
perpetuation  and  occasional  renewal  of  the  long-cherished 
friendship  and  social  intercourse  which  had  existed  between 
the  officers  of  the  army.  The  idea  originated  with  General 
Knox.  He  communicated  it  to  Washington,  who  not  only 
approved  of  it,  but  gave  the  efforts  to  form  a  society  upon 
such  a  basis  of  feeling,  his  cordial  co-operation. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1783  that  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati \vas  formed.  The  head-quarters  of  the  army  were  then  at 
Newburgh.  A  committee,  composed  of  Generals  Knox,  Hand, 
and  Huntington,  and  the  accomplished  Captain  Shaw,  was 
appointed  to  arrange  a  plan ;  and,  on  the  13th  of  May,  at  the 
quarters  of  the  Baron  Steuben,  in  Fishkill,  nearly  opposite 
Newburgh,  they  reported  a  form  which  was  adopted  as  the 
constitutional  organization  of  the  society.  After  referring  to 
the  war  for  independence,  and  the  separation  of  the  colonies 
from  Great  Britain,  the  objects  of  the  society  were  stated  in 
the  fol' owing  words: 


128  MOUNT   VP:RNON 

"  To  perpetuate,  therefore,  as  well  the  remembrance  of  this 
vast  event,  as  the  mutual  friendships  which  have  been  formed 
under  the  pressure  of  common  danger,  and  in  many  instances 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  the  parties,  the  officers  of  the  Amer- 
ican army  do  hereby,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  associate, 
constitute,  and  combine  themselves  into  one  society  of  friends, 
to  endure  so  long  as  they  shall  endure,  or  any  of  their  eldest 
male  posterity,  and  in  failure  thereof,  the  collateral  branches, 
who  may  be  judged  worthy  of  becoming  its  supporters  and 
members." 

As  the  officers  of  the  army  were  chiefly  Americans,  and  were 
about  to  return  to  their  citizenship,  they  appropriately  named 
the  society,  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  Roman,  Lucius  Quintius 
Cincinnatus,  whose  example  they  were  about  to  imitate.  They 
resolved  that  the  following  principles  should  form  the  basis  of 
the  society : 

1.  "An  incessant  attention  to  preserve  inviolate  those  ex- 
alted rights   and   liberties  of  human   nature  for  which  they 
have  fought  and  bled,  and  without  which  the  high  rank  of  a 
rational  being  is  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing. 

2.  "  An  unalterable  determination  to  promote  and  cherish, 
between  the  respective  states,  that  unison  and  national  honor 
so  essentially  necessary  to  their  happiness  and  the  future  dig- 
nity of  the  American  empire. 

3.  "  To  render  permanent   the   cordial  affection   subsisting 
among  the  officers,  this  spirit  will  dictate  brotherly  kindness  in 
all  things,  and  particularly  extend  to  the  most  substantial  acts 
of  "beneficence,  according  to  the  ability  of  the  society,  toward 
those   officers   and   their  families  who  unfortunately  may  be 
under  the  necessity  of  receiving  it." 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


129 


For  the  sake  of  frequent  communication,  the  association  was 
divided  into  state  societies,  to  meet  annually  on  the  4th  of 
July,  or  often er  if  they  should  find  it  expedient.  The  society 
also  adopted  an  Order  by  which 
its  members  should  be  known  and 
distinguished.  It  is  composed  of 
a  medal  of  gold  with  proper  em- 
blems, "  suspended  by  a  deep-blue 
ribbon  two  inches  wide,  edged 
with  white,  descriptive  of  the 
union  of  America  with  France." 

A  representation  of  the  Order, 
full  size,  is  seen  in  the  engraving. 
The  leaves  of  the  olive  branches 
are  of  gold  and  green  enamel ;  the 
head  and  tail  of  the  eagle  gold 
and  white  enamel ;  and  the  sky  in 
the  centre  device  (which  is  a  fac- 
simile of  one  of  the  medallions  on 
the  certificate  of  membership),  is 
blue  enamel. 

The  French  officers  who  served 
in  the  continental  army  presented 
to  Washington  an  elegant  Order, 
studded  with  precious  stones,  about 
two  hundred  in  number.  The 
leaves  of  the  olive  branches  and 


ORDER   OF   THE    CINCINNATI. 


wreath  are  composed  of  emeralds,  the  berries  of  ruby,  and  the 
beak  of  the  eagle  amethyst.  Above  the  eagle  is  a  group  of 
military  emblems — flags,  drums,  and  cannon — surrounding  a 

9 


130 


MOUNT     VERNON 


ribbon,  upon  which  are  inscribed  the  words :  "  PRESENTED,  IN 

THE    NAME    OF    THE    FRENCH    SOLDI K RS,    TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    THE 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON."  This  also  is  studded  with  precious 
stones.  Above  it  is  a  bow  of  moire  antique  ribbon,  of  light-blue 
color,  with  white  edges.  This  jewel  is  at  present  [1859J  in  the 
possession  of  the  Honorable  Hamilton  Fish,  of  New  York, 

president  of  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati. 

The  Society  had  a  certifi- 
cate of  membership  engraved 
in  France,  by  J.  J.  Le  Yeau, 
from  a  drawing  by  Aug.  Le 
Belle.  It  occupies  a  space 
thirteen  and  a  half  inches  in 
width  and  twenty  inches  in 
length,  and  was  printed  on 
line  vellum.  The  engraving 
upon  the  next  page  is  a  fac- 
simile on  a  reduced  scale. 
The  design  represents  Amer- 
ican liberty  as  a  strong  man 
arme'd,  bearing  in  one  hand 
the  Union  flag,  and  in  the 
other  a  naked  sword.  Beneath 
his  feet  are  British  flags,  and 
a  broken  spear,  shield,  and  chain.  Hovering  by  his  side  is  the 
eagle,  our  national  emblem,  from  whose  talons  the  lightning 
of  destruction  is  flashing  upon  the  British  lion.  Britannia, 
with  the  crown  falling  from  her  head,  is  hastening  toward  a 
boat  to  escape  to  a  fleet,  which  denotes  the  departure  of  British 


ORDER    PRESENTtU    BY    FRfcNCH    OFFICERS. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


131 


nil 

tori 

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."N  &  X  5^N 

^W  BrlM 

mrta 

i)  g& 

Vat 
ft)  I* 

;•  ^o;  T  ^>  i 
x  Pj.dE?  i  io  §;  „. 

IPIiMs 

e>  X  «<    -V1  iSr\ 

IP'  I-  ^T  sL&s 

*•   s    i    ^        i    ^"?g^N 

^  18^ 
*•    J    M  f?x 

^f  it 
*TTw 

i  I.  ^  "' 


y    »;  j  "j  xK  ta  8  |» 

M    fCLS 


\  A 


132  MOUNT     VKRNON 

power  from  our  shores.  Upon  a  cloud,  on  the  right,  is  an 
angel  blowing  a  trumpet,  from  which  flutters  a  loose  scroll. 
Upon  the  scroll  are  the  sentences  :  Palam  nuntiata  libertas, 
A.  D.  1776.  Fcedus  sociale  oum  Gallia,  A.  D.  1778.  Pax: 
libertas  parta,  A.  D.  1783 — "  Independence  declared,  A.  D. 
1776.  Treaty  of  alliance  with  France  declared,  A.  D.  1778. 
Peace !  independence  obtained,  A.  D.  1783." 

Upon  the  medallion  on  the  right  is  a  device  representing 
Cincinnatus  at  his  plow,  a  ship  on  the  sea,  and  a  walled  town 
in  the  distance.  Over  his  head  is  a  flying  angel,  holding  a 
ribbon  inscribed:  Virtutis  piwmium  ;  "Reward  of  virtue." 
Below  is  a  heart,  with  the  words:  Esto  perpetua;  "Be  thou 
perpetual."  Upon  the  rim  is  the  legend :  Societas  Cincinna- 
torum  Instituta  A.  D.  MDCCLXXXIIL;  "Society  of  the 
Cincinnati,  instituted  1783."  The  device  upon  the  medallion 
on  the  left  is  Cincinnatus,  with  his  family,  near  his  house.  He 
is  receiving  a  sword  and  shield  from  three  senators :  an  army 
is  seen  in  the  distance.  Upon  the  rim  are  the  words :  Omnia 
relinqui  tservare  rempublicam  •  "  He  abandons  every  thing  to 
serve  his  country"  (referring  to  Cincinnatus). 

"Washington  was  chosen  the  first  president-general  of  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  General  Henry  Knox  the  secre- 
tary. The  former  remained  in  office  until  his  death,  a  period 
of  sixteen  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Alexander 
Hamilton.  All  of  the  certificates  given  to  the  original  mem- 
bers, like  the  one  delineated  in  the  engraving,  were  filled  up 
and  signed  by  Washington,  at  Mount  Yernon. 

We  have  observed  that  it  wras  Christmas  eve  when  Wash- 
ington arrived  at  Mount  Yernon  from  Annapolis,  once  more  a 
private  citizen.  What  a  glad  Christmas  was  that  for  all  in 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  133 

that  pleasant  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac !  It  was  a 
Christmas  to  be  specially  remembered  by  the  retired  soldier. 
It  was  a  day  long  hoped  for  by  him  when  engaged  in  the 
mighty  labors  of  his  official  station.  Rest,  rest  he  often  sighed 
for,  and  now  the  elements  seemed  to  sympathize  in  his  great 
desire.  An  intensely  severe  winter  closed  almost  every  avenue 
to  Mount  Vernon,  and  even  neighborly  intercourse  was  sus- 
pended. Washington  had  rest  in  abundance.  To  Lafayette 
he  wrote  on  the  first  of  February  following  his  retirement: 
"  On  the  eve  of  Christmas  I  entered  these  doors  an  older  man 
by  near  nine  years,  than  when  I  left  them.  Since  that  period, 
we  have  been  fast  locked  up  in  frost  and  snow,  and  excluded 
in  a  manner  from  all  kinds  of  intercourse." 

"  I  have  not  only  retired  from  all  public  employments,"  he 
added,  "  but  I  am  retiring  within  myself,  and  shall  be  able  to 
view  the  solitary  walks,  and  tread  the  paths  of  private  life 
with  heartfelt  satisfaction.  Envious  of  none,  I  am  determined 
to  be  pleased  with  all ;  and  this,  my  dear  friend,  being  the 
order  of  my  march,  I  will  move  gently  down  the  stream  of 
life,  until  I  sleep  with  my  fathers." 

And  yet,  even  in  that  perfect  retirement,  it  was  several 
weeks  before  Washington  could  entirely  divest  his  mind  of  the 
burden  of  solicitude  for  public  aifairs.  To  General  Knox  he 
wrote  on  the  20th  of  February :  "  I  am  just  beginning  to 
experience  that  ease  and  freedom  from  public  cares,  which, 
however  desirable,  takes  some  time  to  realize ;  for  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  it  was  not  till  lately  I 
could  get  the  better  of  my  usual  custom  of  ruminating,  as  soon 
as  I  waked  in  the  morning,  on  the  business  of  the  ensuing  day ; 
and  of  my  surprise  at  finding,  after  revolving  many  things  in 


134  MOUNT     VERNON 

my  mind,  that  I  was  no  longer  a  public  man,  nor  had  any 
thing  to  do  with  public  transactions. 

"I  feel  now,  however,  as  I  conceive  a  wearied  traveller 
must  do,  who,  after  treading  many  a  painful  step  with  a  heavy 
burden  on  his  shoulders,  is  eased  of  the  latter,  having  reached 
the  haven  to  which  all  the  former  were  directed  ;  and  from  his 
house-top  is  looking  back,  and  tracing  with  an  eager  eye  the 
meanders  by  which  he  escaped  the  quicksands  and  mires 
which  lay  in  his  way  ;  and  into  which  none  but  the  all-power- 
ful Guide  and  Dispenser  of  human  events  could  have  prevent- 
ed his  falling." 

Never  had  a  traveller  more  cause  for  serenity  of  mind  and 
perfect  gratitude,  in  the  hour  of  calm  retrospection,  than 
George  Washington  at  that  time  ;  and  also  twelve  years  later, 
when  he  resigned  the  helm  of  the  vessel  of  state  into  other 
hands,  and  sought  repose  for  the  last  time  in  the  shades  of 
Mount  Yernon.  And  when  he  fully  realized  his  relief,  his 
social  desires,  so  long  repressed,  came  into  full  play,  and 
renewals  of  old  acquaintance  and  friendly  correspondence  took 
place.  "Freed  from  the  clangor  of  arms  and  the  bustle  of  a 
camp,"  he  wrote  to  the  wife  of  Lafayette,  in  April,  after 
receiving  information  that  the  marquis  intended  to  visit 
America  soon — "  Freed  from  the  cares  of  public  employment 
and  the  responsibility  of  office,  I  am  now  enjoying  domestic- 
ease  under  the  shadow  of  my  own  vine  and  my  own  fig-tree ; 
and  in  a  small  villa,  with  the  implements  of  husbandry  and 
lambkins  around  me,  I  expect  to  glide  gently  down  the  stream 
of  life,  till  I  am  entombed  in  the  mansion  of  my  fathers,  *  *  * 
Come,  then,  let  me  entreat  you,  and  call  my  cottage  your 
home ;  for  your  own  doors  do  not  open  to  you  with  more 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  135 

readiness  than  mine  would.  You  will  see  the  plain  manner  in 
which  we  live,  and  meet  with  rustic  civility ;  and  you  shall 
taste  the  simplicity  of  rural  life.  It  will  diversify  the  scene, 
and  may  give  you  a  higher  relish  for  the  gaieties  of  the  court, 
when  you  return  to  Versailles." 

"  My  manner  of  living  is  plain,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  and 
I  do  not  mean  to  be  put  out  by  it.  A  glass  of  wine  and  a  bit 
of  mutton  are  always  ready,  and  such  as  will  be  content  to 
partake  of  them  are  always  welcome.  Those  who  expect  more 
will  be  disappointed." 

But  this  modest  dream  of  quietude  and  simplicity  of  life  was 
not  realized.  Washington  w^as  the  central  figure  of  the  group 
of  great  men  who  had  laid  the  foundations  of  the  republic.  To- 
him  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  speedily  turned  for  counsel  and 
action,  for  that  republic  and  all  its  dependent  interests-  were 
soon  in  peril.  He  was  too  great  to  remain  an  isolated  citizen, 
and  men  of  every  degree,  his  own  countrymen  and  strangers, 
were  soon  seen  upon  pilgrimages  to  Mount  Vernon ;  and  the 
little  "  villa"  was  too  small  to  shelter  in  comfort  the  many 
guests  that  often  assembled  under  its  roof. 

Washington  now  took  a  general  survey  of  all  his  affairs,  and 
turned  his  thoughts  to  the  improvement  of  his  farms,  the  en- 
largement of  his  mansion,  and  the  adornment  of  the  grounds 
around  it.  These  improvements  were  commenced  in  the  spring 
of  1784,  and  then  the  construction  of  the  house,  in  its  present 
form  was  resolved  upon.  The  mansion  built  by  Lawrence 
Washington,  and  called  a  "  villa"  by  the  general,  was  of  the 
old  gable-roofed  style,  with  only  four  rooms  upon  each  floor,  as 
we  have  observed.  It  was  about  one-third  the  size  of  the  pres- 
ent building,  and  in  the  alteration,  it  was  made  to  occupy  the 


13(5  MOUNT     VERNON 

.central  portion,  the  two  ends  having  been  built  at  the  same 
time.  The  mansion,  when  completed  by  General  Washington, 
i(and  as  it  now  appears)  was  of  the  most  substantial  frame- 
work, two  stories  in  height,  ninety-six  feet  in  length,  thirty 
feet  in  depth,  with  a  piazza  fifteen  feet  in  width,  extending 
Along  the  entire  eastern  or  river  front,  supported  by  sixteen 
square  columns,  twenty-five  feet  in  height.  Over  this  piazza 
is  a  balustrade  of  a  light  and  pleasing  design ;  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  roof  is  an  observatory  with  a  small  spire.  There 
,are  ^even  dormer  windows  in  the  roof,  three  on  the  eastern 
side,  one  on  each  end,  and  two  on  the  western  or  lawn  side. 

The  ground  floor  of  the  house  contains  six  rooms,  with  a 
spacious  passage  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  extending 
through  it  from  east  to  west.  From  it  a  massive  staircase 
ascends  to  the  chambers.  The  rooms  and  the  passage  are 
all  wainscoted,  and  have  large  worked  cornices;  and  they 
present  to  the  eye  the  appearance  of  great  solidity.  On  the 
south  side  of  the  passage  is  a  parlor,  and  the  library  and  break- 
fast-room of  Washington,  from  which  a  narrow  staircase 
ascends  to  his  private  study  on  the  second  floor.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  passage  are  a  reception-room  and  parlor,  and  a  large 
drawing-room,  in  which,  when  there  was  much  company,  the 
guests  were  sometimes  entertained  at  table.  These  apartments 
and  their  present  appearance  and  uses  we  will  consider  else- 
where. 

Near  the  mansion,  a  substantial  kitchen  on  one  side,  and 
store-room  and  laundry  on  the  other,  were  built,  and  these 
were  connected  with  the  dwelling  by  very  neat  open  colon- 
nades, each  with  roof  and  pavement ;  and,  at  a  little  distance 
from  them,  two  other  strong  buildings  were  erected  for  house- 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


137 


WESTEKN    FRONT    OF    MODNT    VERNON,    AS    IT    APPEARED    IN    1858. 

servants'  quarters.  The  mansion,  the  kitchen  and  store-house, 
with  the  connecting  colonnades,  and  the  servants'  quarters,  all 
remain,  and  exhibit  the  same  external  appearance  which  they 
bore  when  Washington  left  them.  These  may  be  best  seen 
from  the  lawn  that  spreads  out  before  the  western  front  of  the 
mansion,  which  is  first  approached  by  visitors  in  carriages, 
there  being  no  road  for  horses  upon  the  grounds  before  the 
river-front. 

In  the  prosecution  of  these  improvements  Washington  was 
his  own  architect,  and  drew  every  plan  and  specification 
for  the  workmen  with  his  own  hand.  Every  measurement 


138  MOUNT     VERIZON 

was  calculated  and  indicated  with  exactness  :  and  in  every 
arrangement  for  his  home,  he  appears  to  have  made  convenience 
and  durability  the  prime  objects  of  his  care.  The  following 
letter  to  Mr.  William  Rumney,  of  Alexandria  (who  had  been 
an  aide  to  General  Charles  Lee  at  one  time  during  the  Revolu- 
tion), will  give  an  idea  of  the  carefulness  and  forethought  of 
Washington  in  the  management  of  his  aifairs.  Mr.  Rumney 
was  then  about  to  leave  for  England : 

"General  Washington  .presents  his  compliments  to  Mr.  Rurn- 
ney — would  esteem  it  as  a  particular  favor  if  Mr.  Rumney 
would  make  the  following  enquiries  as  soon  as  convenient  after 
his  arrival  in  England,  and  communicate  the  result  of  them  by 
the  Packet,  or  any  other  safe  and  expeditious  conveyance  to 
this  country. 

"  1st.  The  terms  upon  which  the  best  kind  of  Whitehaven 
flag-stone — black  and  white  in  equal  quantities — could 
be  delivered  at  the  Port  of  Alexandria,  by  the  superficial 
foot, — workmanship,  freight,  and  every  other  incidental 
charge  included.  The  stone  to  be  2£  Inches,  or  there- 
abouts, thick  ;  and  exactly  a  foot  square — each  kind.  To 
have  a  rich  polished  face,  and  good  joints  so  as  that  a  neat 
floor  may  be  made  therewith. 

"  2nd.  Upon  what  terms  the  common  Irish  Marble  (black 
and  white  if  to  be  had) — same  dimensions,  could  be 
delivered  as  above. 

"  3rd.     As  the  General  has  been  informed  of  a  very  cheap 

kind  of  Marble,  good  in  quality,  at  or  in  the  neighborhood 

of  Ostend,  he  would  thank  Mr.  Rumney,  if  it  should  fall 

in  his  way,  to  institute  an  enquiry  into  this  also. 

"  On  the  Report  of  Mr.  Rumney,  the  General  will  take  his 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  139 

ultimate  determination ;  for  which  reason  he  prays  him  to  be 
precise  and  exact.  The  Piazza  or  Colonnade,  for  which  this  is 
wanted  as  a  floor,  is  ninety-two  feet  eight  inches,  by  twelve 
feet  eight  inches  within  ths  margin,  or  border  that  surrounds 
it.  Over  and  above  the  quantity  here  mentioned,  if  the  above 
Flags  are  cheap— or  a  cheaper  kind  of  hard  Stone  could  be 
had,  he  would  get  as  much  as  would  lay  floors  in  the  Circular 
Colonnades,  or  covered  ways  at  the  wings  of  the  House — each 
of  which  at  the  outer  curve,  is  38  feet  in  length  by  7  feet  2 
Inches  in  breadth,  within  the  margin  or  border  as  aforesaid. 

"  The  General  being  in  want  of  a  House  Joiner  &  Bricklayer 
who  understand  their  respective  trades  perfectly,  would  thank 
Mr.  Rumney  for  enquiring  into  the  terms  upon  which  such 
workmen  might  be  engaged  for  two  or  three  years  (the  time 
of  service  to  commence  upon  the  ship's  arrival  at  Alexandria); 
a  shorter  term  than  two  years  would  not  answer,  because 
foreigners  generally  have  a  seasoning,  which  with  other  inter- 
ruptions too  frequently  waste  the  greater  part  of  the  first  year 
— more  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  employer  than  the  Em- 
ployed.— Bed,  board  &  Tools  to  be  found  by  the  former,  cloth- 
ing by  the  latter. 

"  If  two  men  of  the  above  Trades  and  of  orderly  and  quiet 
deportment  could  be  obtained  for  twenty-five  or  even  thirty 
pounds  sterling  per  annum  each  (estimating  the  dollar  at 
4s.  6d.),  the  General,  rather  than  sustain  the  loss  of  Time  neces- 
sary for  communication  would  be  obliged  to  Mr.  Rurnney  for 
entering  into  proper  obligatory  articles  of  agreement  on  his 
behalf  with  them  and  sending  them  by  the  first  vessel  bound 
to  this  Port.  "  GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

"MOUNT  VERNONr  July  5r  1784." 


140 


MOUNT     V  K R N 0  N 


The  pavement-stone  procured 


,/  w. 

-UM.        °°"   •'.„      © 
5  POPLAR! -ID 


H.CHE: 

HOLLYl 

SECTION    OF   SHADED    C.VRRIAGE-WAT. 


through  Mr.  Rumney,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  foregoing 
order,  still  exists  beneath  the 
grand  piazza  and  the  colon- 
nades, but  in  a  dilapidated 
state.  Many  of  the  blocks 
are  gone,  others  are  broken, 
and  all  show  abrasion  by 
footsteps  and  the  elements. 
Many  of  the  carpenter's 
tools,  imported  from  Eng- 
land at  that  time  by  Wash- 
ington, for  the  use  of  his 
workmen,  are  preserved. 

Washington  was  very  fond 
of  planting  trees  and  shrub- 
bery ;  and  his  diaries  show 
that  he  was  much  engaged 
in  that  business  in  1784  and 
1785.  He  went  to  the  woods 
almost  every  day  to  select 
and  mark  young  trees  for 
transplanting  to  the  grounds 
around  the  mansion,  and 
he  generally  superintended 
their  removal. 

In  the  rear  of  the  man- 
sion, Washington  laid  out  a 
fine  lawn,  upon  a  level  sur- 
face, which  comprises  about 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


141 


GENERAL  PLAN  OP  THE  MANSION  AND  GROUNDS  AT  MOUNT  VERNON. 


A  The  Mansion. 

B  Oval  Grass-plot. 

C  The  Lawn 

I)  D  Flower-garden. 

E  E  Vegetable  Garden. 

P  F  Kitchen  and  Laundry 


G  G  House-servants'  Quarters. 

II  H  Circular  Colonnades. 

I  I  Water  closets. 

J  J  Seed -houses. 

K  Carriapp-way  as  finally  laid  out 

L  Outside  Koad. 


142  MOUNT     VERNON 

twenty  acres.  Around  it  he  made  a  serpentine  carriage-way  ; 
and  he  planted  a  great  variety  of  shade  trees  upon  each  side  of 
it.  Upon  one  side  of  the  lawn  he  formed  a  spacious  flower- 
garden,  and  upon  the  other  an  equally  spacious  vegetable  gar- 
den, and  these  were  planted  with  the  greatest  care,  according 
to  the  minute  directions  of  the  master.  I  have  before  me  the 
original  plan  of  these  grounds,  made  by  Washington's  own 
hands.  It  is  very  carefully  drawn.  The  exact  position  and 
the  name  of  every  tree  to  be  planted,  are  laid  down.  With  it  is 
a  section-drawing,  on  a  larger  scale,  showing  the  proposed  car- 
riage-way around  the  lawn,  the  names  of  a  large  number  of 
trees  that  were  to  adorn  it,  and  the  places  of  others  indicated  by 
letters  and  numerals,  which  are  explained  by  a  memorandum. 
Directly  before  the  western  front  an  oval  grass-plot  was  designed, 
with  a  dial-post  in  the  centre,  and  a  carriage-way  around  it. 

The  lawn,  the  oval  grass-plot,  and  the  gardens  were  laid  out 
according  to  the  plan  drawn  by  Washington,  and  remain 
unchanged  in  form.  Quite  a  large  number  of  trees,  planted 
along  the  margins  of  the  carriage-way,  at  that  time,  are  yet 
there,  and  are  noble  specimens  of  their  kind.  Many  others 
have  decayed  and  passed  awray ;  and,  in  some  instances,  quite 
large  trees  now  stand  where  others  were  planted  by  the  hand 
of  Washington  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago. 

In  each  garden  Washington  erected  small  houses,  of  octag- 
onal form,  for  the  storage  of  seeds  and  implements  of  hor- 
ticulture. These  are  yet  standing.  The  lower  portion  of  each 
is  of  brick,  and  the  remainder  of  plank,  wrought  so  as  to 
resemble  blocks  of  stone.  These  garden-houses,  and  water- 
closets  of  similar  form  and  dimensions,  standing  on  the  borders 
of  the  garden  near  the  mansion,  are  now  [1859]  fallen  into 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


143 


almost  hopeless  decay.     The  massive  brick  walls  around  both 
gardens  remain  in  perfect  preservation. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  flower-garden  Washington  erected 
quite  an  extensive  conservatory  for  plants,  into  which  he  col- 
lected many  rare  exotics.  Some  of  them  were  presented  to 
him  as  testimonials  of  esteem,  and  others  were  purchased  at 
the  garden  of  John  Bartram,  near  Philadelphia.  Bartram 
was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  an  eminent 
botanist.  He  had  died  during  the  Revolution,  leaving  his 
business  in  the  able  hands  of  his  son  "William,  who,  in  1791, 
published  a  most  interesting  account  of  his  botanical  explora- 
tions through  the  Southern  states  of  our  Union. 


144 


MOUNT     VERNON 


A  few  tropical  plants  found  their  way  to  the  Potomac  oc- 
casionally, upon  vessels  from  the  West  Indies.  Among  the 
latter,  on  one  occasion,  were  some  fine  lemon-trees  of  large 


CKNTURY  PLANT  AND  LBHOM-TEKX. 


growth,  and  from  them  Washington  selected  two  or  three. 
Others  were  propagated  from  these  by  cuttings,  until,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  they  had  become  quite  a  grove  in  one  end 
of  the  conservatory.  Only  one  of  these  now  remains.  It  was 
standing  in  the  flower-garden  when  I  was  there  in  1S58,  by 
the  side  of  a  fine  century-plant,  which  was  sent  to  Washington 
by  a  gentleman  at  Porto  Rico,  in  1798.  The  tree  is  about 
fifteen  feet  in  height ;  and,  though  bearing  fruit  in  abundance, 
shows  signs  of  decay. 

At  the  junction  of  two  of  the  principal   avenues  in   the 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


14:5 


VIEW    IN    THE    FLOVVtK-GABDEN    AT    MOL'XT    VBRNON — THK    SAGO    PALM. 

flower-garden,  I  saw  one  other  plant — and  only  one — that  had 
experienced  the  fostering  care  of  Washington.  It  was  a  Sago 
Palm,  an  East  India  production,  from  which  is  obtained  the 
article  of  domestic  use  known  as  pearl  sago,  a  species  of  fecula 
or  starch.  It  stands  in  a  large  tub  in  which  flowers  were 
blooming;  and  its  tufted  leaves,  like  immense  feathers,  growing 
from  the  heavy  stem  seven  feet  from  the  ground,  were  fresh 
and  beautiful. 

The  Lemon  Tree,  the  Century  Plant,  and  the  Sago  Palm, 
are  all  that  remain  of  the  movable  plants  which  belonged  to 
Washington,  and  were   taken  from   the  green-house  when  it 
10 


146 


MOUNT  .VERNON 


was  destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1835,  the  same  night 
when  the  destructive  element  consumed  more  than  five  hun- 
dred buildings  and  other  property  valued  at  more  than  twenty 
millions  of  dollars,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  fire  origi- 
nated in  a  defective  flue  connected  with  the  conservatory,  and 


KUJ.NS    OF   TUB    CONSERVATORY    AT    MOUNT    VEHA'ON. 

that  building,  with  the  servants'  quarters  adjoining  it,  was  laid 
in  ashes  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours.  What  plants  were 
saved  from  the  flames  were  mostly  destroyed  by  the  frost,  for 
it  was  one  of  the  coldest  nights  on  record. 

The  conservatory  was  never  rebuilt  nor  the  ruins  removed. 
These,  now  overgrown  with  vines  and  shrubs,  form  a  pict- 
uresque garden  wall,  but  lose  some  of  their  attractiveness  to 
the  eye  of  taste,  by  the  presence  of  two  tall,  perpendicular 
chimneys,  which  are  seen  above  the  shrubbery  from  every 
point  of  view  in  the  garden.  These  broken  walls,  too,  strike 
the  visitor  unpleasantly.  They  are  at  the  modern  carriage 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


147 


entrance  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  are  the  first  objects  associated 
with  "Washington  that  meet  the  eye  on  approaching  the  man- 
sion from  the  public  road. 


ICE-HODSE    A.T   MOUNT   VEKNON. 


Eastward  of  the  flower-garden,  and  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  present  entrance  to  Mount  Vernon,  Washington  con- 
structed an  ice-house,  after  his  retirement  from  public  life,  at 
the  close  of  his  presidency.  It  was  something  new  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  indeed,  ice-houses  were  not  in  very  common  use  else- 
where at  that  time.  It  is  well  preserved,  and  is  finely  shaded 
by  tall  trees,  which  form  a  beautiful  grove  on  the  north  side 
of  the  mansion. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  this  ice-house,  Washington  had 
used,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  meat,  butter,  and  vegetables 
cool  in  summer,  a  large  dry-well  at  the  south-east  corner  of 
the  lawn  in  front  of  the  mansion,  just  on  the  brink  of  the  high 
precipitous  bank  of  the  river.  Into  this  a  descent  was  made 


148 


MOUNT     VKRNON 


by  a  flight  of  steps,  and  over  it  he  erected  an  elegant  summer- 
house,  with  a  spire  and  iron  vane  in  the  form  of  a  crescent.  The 
well  and  the  summer-house  are  there,  but  a  part  of  the  walls  of 
the  former  have  fallen  in.  From  the  summer-house  fine  views 


AT  Morxr  TERNO.V. 


of  the  Potomac  may  be  obtained,  but  as  the  staircase  leading 
to  it  has  nearly  rotted  away,  there  is  difficulty  and  some  danger 
in  climbing  up  into  it  over  the  chasm  formed  by  the  caving  in 
of  the  side  of  the  well.  It  was  from  that  summer-house  that 
the  sketch  was  made  of  the  mansion,  out-buildings,  and  lawn, 
with  the  visitors,  as  they  appear  in  the  frontispiece  to  this 
volume. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  149 

I  have  before  me  a  manuscript  memorandum  from  the  hand 
of  Washington,  in  which  he  notes,  in  minute  detail,  the  dis- 
tances and  directions  in  feet  and  inches,  and  by  points  of 
compass,  of  various  objects,  such  as  the  garden-houses,  the 
dial-post,  and  the  dry-well,  from  the  "  front  door  of  the  man- 
sion." It  is  interesting,  as  showing  the  extreme  minuteness 
and  accuracy  with  which  Washington  kept  a  record  of  all  his 
operations,  and  might  serve  those  who  are  about  to  restore 
Mount  Vernon  to  its  original  form  and  perfection,  as  an  indi- 
cator of  points  now  lost  through  neglect  and  decay. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1784,  visitors  flocked  to 
Mount  Vernon  in  great  numbers.  Many  of  the  companions 
in  arms  of  the  beloved  chief,  of  all  grades,  from  general 
officers  to  private  soldiers,  went  there  to  pay  their  respects,  and 
enjoy  once  again  sweet  intercourse  with  him  under  whom  they 
had  always  delighted  to  serve. 

At  length  one  came  who  was  specially  a  man  after  Wash- 
ington's own  heart — a  young  man  whom  he  loved  as  a  son  or 
a  younger  brother.  He  had  been  a  friend  to  the  Americans 
in  their  struggle  for  freedom,  and  was  a  friend  of  mankind. 
That  visitor  was  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  a  distinguished 
scion  of  an  ancient  noble  family,  who,  in  the  summer  of 
1776,  while  at  the  table  of  the  commandant  of  Mentz,  in  Ger- 
many, with  other  French  officers,  heard  the  Duke  of  Glouces- 
ter, brother  to  the  King  of  England,  speak  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  just  put  forth  by  the  Anglo-American  colo- 
nies, and  of  the  strong  measures  adopted  by  the  British 
ministry  to  crush  the  rising  rebellion.  The  marquis  was  then 
just  past  eighteen  years  of  age,  slender  in  form,  and  a  boy  in 
personal  appearance.  But  the  heart  of  a  patriot  and  hero  beat 


150  MOUNT     VERNON 

beneath  his  coat  of  green,  and  his  imagination  and  zeal  were 
fired  by  the  recital  of  the  story  of  a  people  fighting  for  liberty. 
He  returned  to  Paris  full  of  high  resolves,  and  leaving  there 
an  equally  enthusiastic  and  a  cheerfully  consenting  young  wife 
— the  lich  and  beautiful  daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Noailles — 
he  came  to  America,  volunteered  to  fight  in  the  cause  of  colo- 
nial emancipation,  and,  throughout  the  war,  performed  services 
in  the  field  here,  and  at  the  court  of  France,  of  inestimable 
benefit  to  the  country.  Life,  youth,  fortune,  the  endearments 
of  home,  were  all  freely  devoted  to  the  cause,  and  he  made  the 
aspirations  of  the  Americans  emphatically  his  own,  with  an  en- 
thusiasm that  scorned  all  obstacles.  "It  is  fortunate  for  the 
king,"  said  the  old  Count  Maurepas,  "  that  Lafayette  does  not 
take  it  into  his  head  to  strip  Versailles  of  its  furniture  to  send  to 
his  dear  Americans,  as  his  majesty  would  be  unable  to  refuse  it." 

Washington,  governed  by  his  intuitive  perception  of  char- 
acter, which  never  deceived  him,  took  Lafayette  to  his  bosom 
on  his  first  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  in  1777;  and  from  that 
hour  until  death  severed  the  bond,  they  were  friends  of 
truest  character.  And  now,  the  intelligence  that  this  dear 
friend  was  about  to  visit  him  in  his  quiet  home  at  Mount  Ver- 
non  gave  Washington  a  most  exquisite  pleasure.  The  portrait 
of  the  marquis,  painted  by  Charles  Willson  Peale,  in  1778,  was 
then  hanging  upon  the  wall  of  his  parlor :  it  now  occupies  a 
prominent  place  among  the  works  of  art  at  Arlington  House. 

Lafayette  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  4th  of  August,  1784, 
after  a  passage  of  thirty-four  days  from  France.  There  he 
received  the  congratulations  of  the  citizens  for  a  few  days, 
and  then  hastened  toward  Mount  Yernon.  He  was  detained 
in  Philadelphia  two  or  three  days,  and  there  wrote  as  follows : 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  151 

"PHILADELPHIA,   Tuesday  Evening. 

"  Mr  DEAR  GENERAL  : — I  have  already  had  the  pleasure  to 
acquaint  you  with  my  arrival  in  America,  and  am  endeavor- 
ing to  reach  Mount  Yernon  as  soon  as  possible.  My  first  plan 
was  only  to  stay  here  two  days,  but  the  affectionate  reception 
I  have  met  with  in  this  city,  and  the  returning  some  compli- 
ments to  the  Assembly,  render  it  necessary  for  me  to  stay  one 
day  longer.  On  Friday  I  will  be  at  the  head  of  Elk,  the  next 
clay  at  Baltimore,  and  by  Sunday  or  Monday  I  hope  at  last  to 
be  blessed  with  a  sight  of  my  dear  General.  There  is  no  rest 
for  me  until  I  go  to  Mount  Yernon.  I  long  for  the  pleasure 
to  embrace  you,  my  dear  General,  and  the  happiness  of  being 
once  more  with  you  will  be  so  great  that  no  words  can  ever 
express  it.  In  a  few  days  I  will  be  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  I 
do  already  feel  delighted  with  so  charming  a  prospect.  My 
best  respects  wait  upon  Mrs.  "Washington,  and  not  long  after 
you  receive  this  I  shall  tell  you  myself  how  respectfully  and 
affectionately  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  my  dear  General, 

"  Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  LAFAYETTE. 

"  In  case  your  affairs  call  you  to  the  Springs,  I  beg  leave 
either  to  go  there  after  you,  or  to  accompany  you  in  your  jour- 
ney." 

Lafayette  arrived  at  Mount  Yernon  on  the  17th,  and  re- 
mained twelve  days  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  most  sincere 
friendship  and  genuine  hospitality.  During  that  time  Mount 
Yernon  was  crowded  with  other  guests,  who  came  to  meet  the 
great  benefactor  of  America ;  and  when  he  departed  for  Balti- 


152 


MOUNT     VKRNOX 


*~  \( 


LAKAYKTTE PAINTED    BY    C.    \V.    PEALE,    IX    1778. 


more,  quite  a  cavalcade  of  gentlemen  accompanied  him  far  on 
his  way. 

There  was  a  bond  of  union,  of  peculiar  strength,  between 
Washington  and  Lafayette  other  than  that  of  mere  personal 
friendship.  They  were  members  of  the  fraternity  of  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  both  loved  the  mystic  brotherhood  sin- 
cerely. Madame  Lafayette  was  deeply  interested  in  every- 
thing that  engaged  the  attention  of  her  husband  ;  and  she  had 
learned  to  reverence  Washington  with  a  feeling  closely  allied 
to  that  of  devotion.  She  had  corresponded  with  him,  and 
received  from  him  cordial  invitations  to  the  simple  delights 
of  rural  life  at  Mount  Vernon.  She  had,  no  doubt,  earnestly 
desired  to  present  some  visible  testimonial  of  her  regard  to  the 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


153 


great  patriot  of  the  New  World;  and  when  her  husband 
resolved  to  visit  him  in  his  retirement  at  Mount  Vernon,  she 
prepared,  with  her  own  hands,  an  apron  of  white  satin,  upon 


MASOiNIC    APRON,    WROUGHT    BY    MAUAXB   THE    MARCHIONESS    LAFAYETTE. 


which  she  wrought,  in  needlework,  the  various  emblems  qf  the 
Masonic  order.  This  apron  Lafayette  brought  with  him,  and 
presented  to  his  distinguished  brother  at  Mount  Vernon.  It 
was  kept  by  Washington  as  a  cherished  memorial  of  a  noble 
woman  ;  and,  after  his  death,  his  legatees  formally  presented 


154:  MOUNT     VERNON 

it  to  the  Washington  Benevolent  Society  of  Philadelphia,  in 
the  following  words : 

"To  THE  WASHINGTON  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY. 

"  The  legatees  of  General  Washington,  impressed  with  the 
most  profound  sentiments  of  respect  for  the  noble  institution 
which  they  have  the  honor  to  address,  beg  leave  to  present  to 
them  the  enclosed  relic  of  the  revered  and  lamented  Father 
of  his  Country.  They  are  persuaded  that  the  apron,  which 
was  once  possessed  by  the  man  whom  Philadelphians  always 
delighted  to  honor,  will  be  considered  most  precious  to  the 
society  distinguished  by  his  name,  and  by  the  benevolent  and 
grateful  feelings  to  which  it  owes  •  its  foundation.  That  this 
perishable  memento  of  a  hero,  whose  fame  is  more  durable 
than  brass,  may  confer  as  much  pleasure  upon  those  to  whom 
it  is  presented  as  is  experienced  by  the  donors,  is  the  sincere 
wish  of  the  legatees. 

"October  2Gth,  1816." 

When  the  society  to  which  this  apron  was  presented  was 
dissolved,  the  precious  memento  of  Washington  and  his  fair 
friend  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
now  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  upon  the  walls  of  the  Grand 
Master's  room  in  Masonic  Hall,  Philadelphia,  carefully  pre- 
served under  glass,  in  a  frame. 

More  than  two  years  previous  to  the  visit  of  Lafayette, 
Washington  received  from  the  late  Elkanah  Watson,  and  his 
business  partner,  M.  Cossoul,  several  Masonic  ornaments,  ac- 
companied by  the  following  letter  : 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  loo 

"To  HIS  EXCELLENCY,  GENEKAL  WASHINGTON,  AMERICA. 
"  Most  Illustrious  and  Respected  Brother : 

"  In  the  moment  when  all  Europe  admire  and  feel  the 
effects  of  your  glorious  efforts  in  support  of  American  liberty, 
we  hasten  to  offer  for  your  acceptance  a  small  pledge  of  our 
homage.  Zealous  lovers  of  liberty  and  its  institutions,  we 
have  experienced  the  most  refined  joy  in  seeing  our  chief  and 
brother  stand  forth  in  defence  of  a  new-bom  nation  of  repub- 
licans. 

"  Your  glorious  career  will  not  be  confined  to  the  protection 
of  American  liberty,  but  its  ultimate  effect  will  extend  to  the 
whole  human  family,  since  Providence  has  evidently  selected 
you  as  an  instrument  in  His  hands  to  fulfil  His  eternal  decrees. 

"It  is  to  you,  therefore,  the  glorious  orb  of  America,  we 
presume  to  offer  Masonic  ornaments,  as  an  emblem  of  your 
virtues.  May  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  universe  be  the 
guardian  of  your  precious  days,  for  the  glory  of  the  western 
hemisphere  and  the  entire  universe.  Such  are  the  vows  of 
those  who  have  the  favor  to  be  by  all  the  known  numbers, 
"  Your  affectionate  brothers, 

"WATSON  &  COSSOUL. 

"EAST  OF  NANTES,  23d  1st  Month,  5782." 

Washington  replied  as  follows,  from  his  head-quarters  at 
Newburgh : 

"STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  August  IQth,  1782. 

"  GENTLEMEN  : — The  Masonic  ornaments  which  accompanied 
your  brotherly  address  of  the  23d  of  January  last,  though 


156  MOUNT    VERNON 

elegant  in  themselves,  were  rendered  more  valuable  by  the 
flattering  sentiments  and  affectionate  manner  in  which  they 
were  presented. 

"  If  my  endeavors  to  avert  the  evil  with  which  the  country 
was  threatened,  by  a  deliberate  plan  of  tyranny,  should  be 
crowned  with  the  success  that  is  wished,  the  praise  is  due  to 
the  Grand  Architect  of  the  universe,  who  did  not  see  fit  to 
suffer  His  superstructure  of  justice  to  be  subjected  to  the 
ambition  of  the  princes  of  this  world,  or  to  the  rod  of  oppres- 
sion in  the  hands  of  any  power  upon  earth. 

"  For  your  affectionate  vows  permit  me  to  be  grateful,  and 
offer  mine  for  true  brothers  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  to 
assure  you  of  the  sincerity  with  which  I  am, 

"  Yours, 

"  GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

'•  Messrs.  WATSON  &  COSSOUL,  East  of  Nantes." 

Watson  says,  in  relation  to  this  gift :  "  Wishing  to  pay  some 
mark  of  respect  to  our  beloved  Washington,  I  employed,  in 
conjunction  with  my  friend  M.  Cossoul,  nuns  in  one  of  the 
convents  at  Nantes,  to  prepare  some  elegant  Masonic  orna- 
ments, and  gave  them  a  plan  for  combining  the  American  and 
French  flags  on  the  apron  designed  for  his  use."  They  were 
executed  in  a  superior  and  expensive  style,  being  wrought  in 
gold  and  silver  tissue. 

This  regalia  was  sent  by  Washington  to  Mount  Vernon, 
and  was  afterwrard  worn  by  him  when  he  met  his  brethren  in 
the  lodge  at  Alexandria.  The  apron  and  collar  are  now  in 
possession  of  Washington  Lodge,  Alexandria,  to  which  they 
were  presented  by  the  late  George  Washington  Parke  Custis. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATION'S.  157 

The  reverence  which  was  felt  for  the  person  of  Washington 
by  individuals  was  expressed  by  public  bodies,  even,  as  in 
the  example  just  given,  before  the  close  of  the  struggle  which 
he  conducted  so  nobly.  The  Federal  Congress  took  the  initiative 
in  voting  him  honors,  such  as  the  senate  of  old  Rome  was 
wont  to  decree  for  their  heroes  and  sages.  That  body  was  in 
session  at  Princeton,  in  the  summer  of  1783,  when  arrange- 
ments for  the  consummation  of  the  declared  peace  with 
Great  Britain  was  in  progress,  and  "Washington,  having  been 
requested  to  make  his  head-quarters  near,  took  post  at  Rocky 
Hill,  a  few  miles  off.  Before  his  arrival,  the  Congress,  on  the 
7th  of  August, 

"  Resolved  (unanimously,  ten  states  being  present),  That 
an  equestrian  statue  of  General  Washington  be  erected  at  the 
place  where  the  residence  of  Congress  shall  be  established ;" 
and  appointed  Arthur  Lee,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  and  Thomas 
Mifflin,  a  committee  to  propose  a  plan  for  the  same. 

The  committee  recommended  a  statue  of  bronze,  the  general 
to  be  represented  in  a  Roman  dress,  holding  a  truncheon  in  his 
right  hand,  and  his  head  encircled  with  a  laurel  wreath.  The 
statue  was  to  be  supported  by  a  marble  pedestal,  on  which 
were  to  be  represented — the  evacuation  of  Boston,  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  the  battle  of  Princeton,  the 
action  of  Monmouth,  and  the  surrender  of  York.  On  the 
upper  part  of  the  pedestal  was  to  be  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : 

"The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  ordered  this 
statue  to  be  erected  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1783,  in  honor  of 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  the  illustrious  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States  of  America,  during  the  war  which 


158  MOUNT    VERNON 

vindicated  and  secured  their  liberty,  sovereignty,  and  inde- 
pendence." 

It  was  resolved  that  this  statue  should  be  executed  by  the 
best  artist  in  Europe,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  min- 
ister of  the  United  States  at  Versailles  (Doctor  Franklin),  at 
the  expense  of  the  government,  and  that  Congress  should 
transmit  to  the  minister  the  best  likeness  of  Washington  that 
could  be  procured. 

A  few  months  after  the  passage  of  these  resolutions,  two 
young  artists  arrived  at  Rocky  Hill.  These  were  Joseph 
Wright  and  William  Dunlap.  The  former  bore  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Franklin  to  Washington,  and  he  was  permitted  to  paint 
the  portraits  of  the  general  and  his  wife.  Dunlap,  then  a  mere 
lad,  also  painted  a  portrait  of  the  chief. 

Young  Wright  was  a  son  of  Mrs.  Patience  Wright,  who  had 
then  acquired  much  eminence  in  Europe  and  America  for  her 
models  in  wax  of  living  men,  and  he  inherited  some  of  his 
mother's  peculiar  faculty.  Some  members  of  the  Congress, 
aware  of  this,  conceived  the  idea  of  having  him  make  a  plaster 
cast  from  the  face  of  Washington,  to  be  sent  to  Europe  for  the 
use  of  the  sculptor  who  should  execute  the  bronze  statue.  It 
was  proposed,  and  Washington  consented  to  submit  to  the 
unpleasant  operation  of  lying  upon  his  back  and  having  the 
wet  plaster  laid  upon  his  face.  What  a  spectacle  did  the  great 
Republican  leader  present  at  that  moment ! 

The  operation  was  a  most  disagreeable  one,  for  the  manipu- 
lator was  inexperienced  and  unskilful.  He  was  very  anxious, 
too,  to  relieve  Washington  from  his  position,  and,  in  his  haste 
and  trepidation,  an  accident  occurred  which  made  his  labor 
fruitless.  After  the  plaster  had  sufficiently  hardened,  the 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  159 

artist  proceeded,  as  quickly  as  possible,  to  remove  it,  when  he 
let  it  fall  upon  the  floor,  and  it  was  dashed  in  pieces.  The 
desires  of  Congress,  strongly  expressed,  to  have  another  trial, 
were  of  no  avail.  Washington  would  not  consent,  and  the 
statue  voted  by  that  body  was  never  made. 

Young  Wright  appears  to  have  been  unfortunate  in  his 
efforts  to  acquire  fame  and  fortune  in  connection  with  the 
likeness  of  Washington.  He  afterward  cut  a  die  for  a  medal- 
lion profile  of  the  chief,  which  was  declared  by  all  to  be  an 
exceedingly  faithful  picture.  After  striking  a  few  impressions 
the  die  was  broken,  and  the  artist's  labor  was  lost.  An 
engraving  on  copper,  of  larger  size,  was  afterward  made  from 
one  of  these  impressions.  A  broadside  edition  of  Washing- 
ton's Farewell  Address,  printed  in  1796,  in  possession  of  the 
writer,  is  embellished  with  an  impression  from  that  engraving. 

When  Washington  had  become  a  private  citizen — a  plain 
farmer  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac — neither  desiring  nor 
expecting  further  public  employment,  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen, beating  warmly  with  gratitude  for  his  services,  yearn- 
ed to  honor  him  with  some  testimonial  of  their  profound 
regard.  Virginia,  his  native  state,  proud  to  own  him  as  her 
son,  took  the  lead  in  the  manifestation  of  this  sentiment.  On 
the  22d  of  June,  1784,  the  legislature  of  Virginia — 

"Resolved,  That  the  Executive  be  requested  to  take  meas- 
ures for  procuring  a  statue  of  General  Washington,  to  be  of 
the  finest  marble  and  best  workmanship,  with  the  following 
inscription  on  its  pedestal : 

"  'The  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia 
have  caused  this  Statue  to  be  erected  as  a  Monument  of  Affec- 
tion and  Gratitude  to  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  who,  uniting  to 


160  MOUNT     VERNON 

the  Endowments  of  the  Hero  the  Virtues  of  the  Patriot,  and 
exerting  both  in  establishing  the  Liberties  of  his  Country,  has 
rendered  his  Name  dear  to  his  Fellow  Citizens,  and  given  the 
World  an  immortal  Example  of  true  Glory."1 

This  inscription  was  written  by  James  Madison.  On  the 
day  when  this  resolution  was  adopted,  the  General  Assembly 
also  voted  an  address  to  General  Washington,  and  a  joint  com- 
mittee of  the  two  houses  was  appointed  to  prepare  one  and 
present  it.  The  committee,  with  Mr.  Madison  at  the  head, 
waited  upon  Washington,  at  Mount  Yernon,  a  few  days  after- 
ward, presented  the  address,  and  received  the  following  reply  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  : — Witli  feelings  which  are  more  easy  to  be 
conceived  than  expressed,  I  meet  and  reciprocate  the  congrat- 
ulations of  the  representatives  of  this  commonwealth  on  the 
final  establishment  of  peace. 

"  Nothing  can  add  more  to  the  pleasure  which  arises  from  a 
conscious  discharge  of  public  trust,  than  the  approbation  of 
one's  country.  To  have  been  so  happy,  under  a  vicissitude  of 
fortune,  amidst  the  difficult  and  trying  scenes  of  an  arduous 
conflict,  as  to  meet  this,  is,  in  my  mind,  to  have  attained  the 
highest  honor;  and  the  consideration  of  it,  in  my  present 
peaceful  retirement,  will  heighten  all  my  domestic  joys,  and 
constitute  my  greatest  felicity. 

"  I  should  have  been  truly  wanting  in  duty,  and  must  have 
frustrated  the  great  and  important  object  for  which  we  re- 
sorted to  arms,  if,  seduced  by  a  temporary  regard  for  fame,  I 
had  suffered  the  paltrj-  love  of  it  to  interfere  with  my  country's 

welfare:  the  interest  of  which  was  the  only  inducement  which 

^ 

carried  me  into  the  field,  or  permitted  the  sacred  rights  of  civil 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  161 

authority,  though  but  for  a  moment,  to  be  violated  and  in- 
fringed by  a  power  meant  originally  to  rescue  and  confirm 
them. 

"  For  those  rewards  and  blessings  which  you  have  invoked 
for  me  in  this  world,  and  for  the  fruition  of  that  happiness- 
which  you  pray  for  in  that  which  is  to  come,  you  have,  gen- 
tlemen, all  my  thanks  and  all  my  gratitude.  I  wish  I  eoul(J 
insure  them  to  you,  and  the  state  you  represent,  a  hundred- 
fold." 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  governor  of  Virginia  when  the 
General  Assembly  requested  the  executive  to  take  measures 
for  procuring  a  statue  of  Washington  ;  and  a  little  more  than  a 
month  after  the  date  of  that  resolution,  he  wrote  to  Doctor 
Franklin  and  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  in  Paris,  on  the  subject, 
requesting  them  to  attend  to  the  matter,  and  acquainting  them 
that  he  had  ordered  Mr.  Peale  to  send  them  a  full-length 
portrait  of  the  general,  to  be  used  as  a  model  for  the  sculptor. 

The  only  method  by  which  a  perfect  likeness  of  the  great 
patriot  might  be  secured,  was  to  have  the  artist  make  a  model 
from  the  living  face ;  and  Messrs.  Franklin  and  Jefferson  ac- 
cordingly engaged  Houdon,  a  portrait  sculptor,  then  without  a 
rival  in  the  world,  to  go  to  America  for  the  purpose.  Houdon 
was  a  small,  active,  and  exceedingly  industrious  Frenchman ; 
careful  and  prudent,  and  disposed  to  make  an  excellent  bar- 
gain for  himself.  "  The  terms,"  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote,  "  are 
twenty-five  thousand  livres  [about  $4,620],  one  thousand  Eng- 
lish guineas  (the  English  guinea  being  worth  twenty-five 
livres),  for  the  statue  and  pedestal.  Besides  this,  we  pay  his 
expenses  going  and  returning,  which  we  expect  will  be 
11 


162  MOUNT     VERNON 

between  four  and  five  thousand  livres ;  and  if  lie  dies  on  the 
voyage,  we  pay  his  family  ten  thousand  livres.  This  latter 
proposition  was  disagreeable  to  us ;  but  he  has  a  father, 
mother,  and  sisters,  who  have  no  resource  but  in  his  labor ; 
and  he  is  himself  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  world."  To 
insure  the  state  against  loss  in  case  of  his  death,  Mr.  Jeiferson, 
through  Mr.  Adams,  procured  an  insurance  upon  Houdon's 
life,  in  London,  at  an  additional  expense  of  five  hundred  livres, 
or  about  ninety-two  dollars. 

It  was  more  than  a  year  after  the  order  for  the  statue  was 
given  before  Houdon  arrived.  He  came  over  in  the  same 
vessel  that  brought  Doctor  Franklin  home.  On  the  20th  of 

o 

September,  1785,  the  Doctor  gave  Houdon  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Washington,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  wrote  to  the 
general  to  apprise  him  of  the  sculptor's  arrival.  Washington 
immediately  wrote  to  Houdon,  saying,  "  It  will  give  me  pleas- 
ure, sir,  to  welcome  you  to  this  seat  of  my  retirement;  and 
whatever  I  have  or  can  procure  that  is  necessary  to  your  pur- 
poses, or  convenient  and  agreeable  to  your  wishes,  you  must 
freely  command,  as  inclination  to  oblige  you  will  be  among 
the  last  things  in  which  I  shall  be  deficient,  either  on  your 
arrival  or  during  your  stay." 

Houdon  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  3d  of  October, 
furnished  with  all  necessary  materials  for  making  a  bust  of 
Washington.  He  remained  there  a  fortnight,  and  made,  on 
the  living  face  of  our  illustrious  Friend,  a  plaster  mould,  pre- 
paratory for  the  clay  impression,  which  was  then  modelled  into 
the  form  of  a  bust,  and  immediately,  before  it  could  shrink 
from  drying,  moulded  and  cast  in  plaster,  to  be  afterward 
copied  in  marble,  in  Paris.  That  clay  model  was  left  at 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


163 


HOCDON  S   BUST   OF   WASHINGTON. 


Mount  Yernon,  where  it  may  be  seen  upon  a  bracket  in  the 
library,  white-washed,  so  as  to  resemble  marble  or  plaster  of 
Paris. 

In  the  presence  of  Mr.  Madison,  Houdon  made  exact  meas- 
urements of  the  person  of  Washington,  and  with  ample  mem- 
oranda concerning  costume,  et  cetera,  he  returned  to  France. 
The  statue  was  not  completed  until  1789,  when  to  the  inscrip- 
tion upon  the  pedestal  were  added  the  words :  "  Done  in  the 
year  of  CHRIST  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight, 
and  in  the  year  of  the  commonwealth,  twelve." 

Houdon's  statue  stands  in  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol  at 
.Richmond.  It  is  of  fine  Italian  marble,  size  of  life.  The 
costume  is  the  military  dress  of  the  Revolution.  The  right 


164 


MOUNT     VERNON 


HOUDOJTS    STATt:E    OF    WASHINGTON'. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  165 

hand  of  the  general  rests  upon  a  staff;  the  left  is  upon  the 
folds  of  a  military  cloak  thrown  over  the  end  of  a  bundle  of 
fasces,  with  which  are  connected  a  sword  and  plough.  Gouver- 
neur  Morris,  who  was  in  Paris  when  the  statue  was  executed, 
stood  as  a  model  for  the  person  of  Washington.  "  Of  what 
use,"  says  Dunlap,  "  his  person  could  be  to  the  artist  I  cannot 
conceive,  as  there  was  no  likeness,  in  form  or  manner,  between 
him  and  the  hero,  except  that  they  were  both  tall  men."  Yet 
such  was  the  fact.  Morris,  in  his  diary,  under  date  of  "  June 
5,  1789,"  says :  "  Go  to  M.  Houdon's.  He's  been  waiting  for 
me  a  long  time.  I  stand  for  his  statue  of  General  Washington, 
being  the  humble  employment  of  a  manikin.  This  is  literally 
taking  the  advice  of  St.  Paul,  to  be  all  things  to  all  men." 

The  foregoing  facts  are  presented  in  contrast  with  the 
creations  of  fancy  which  an  orator  recently  put  forth  as 
the  forms  of  real  history,  in  the  following  words :  "  Houdon, 
after  taking  a  mould  of  Washington's  face,  persisted  to  make  a 
cast  of  his  entire  person.  *  *  *  *  The  hero  and  the  sage — 
the  man  of  supreme  dignity,  of  spotless  purity  and  the  most 
veiled  modesty,  laid  his  sacred  person  bare  and  prone  before 
the  eyes  of  art  and  affection !  *  *  *  *  The  cast  of  the  body 
was  left  to  the  care  of  his  workmen,  but  that  of  the  head  was 
reserved  in  his  own  hands."  All  this  is  utterly  untrue.  The 
workmen  of  Houdon,  it  is  known,  never  joined  him,  and  no 
such  scene  as  above  described  ever  occurred  at  Mount  Vernon. 

Six  months  before  Houdon's  arrival  at  Mount  Vernon, 
another  artist  was  domiciled  there.  It  was  Eobert  Edge 
Pine,  a  very  small,  morbidly  irritable  Englishman,  who  came 
to  America  in  1784,  with  the  rare  reputation  of  "king's 
painter,"  and  with  the  lofty  design  of  procuring  portraits  of 


166  MOUNT    VERNON 

the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  Revolution,  as  materials  for 
a  series  of  historical  paintings  of  the  war  then  just  ended. 
His  wife  and  daughters,  who  came  with  him,  were  as  diminu- 
tive as  himself,  and  the  family  appeared  almost  like  pigmies. 

Pine  had  been  a  student  of  art  under  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 
He  was  highly  esteemed  by  that  artist,  and  wras  popular  with 
a  large  number  of  influential  men  in  England.  He  brought 
letters  of  introduction  to  Francis  Hopkinson,  of  Philadelphia ; 
and  the  first  portrait  that  he  painted  after  his  arrival  in  this 
country,  was  of  that  gentleman.  It  was  finished  early  in 
1785,  and  was  first  well  engraved  by  Longacre,  and  published 
in  the  American  Portrait  Gallei^y.  Robert  Morris  also  pat- 
ronized him,  and  built  a  studio  for  him  in  Eighth  street,  in 
Philadelphia. 

Pine's  republican  proclivities  made  him  unpopular  with  the 
ministerial  party  at  home,  and  gave  him  corresponding  sym- 
pathy in  America.  He  found  constant  employment  for  his 
pencil  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Annapolis,  and  in  several 
places  in  Yirginia.  He  went  to  Mount  Vernon  in  May,  1785, 
with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Washington  from  Francis  Hop- 
kinson, in  which  the  chief  was  requested  to  give  the  painter 
sittings,  in  furtherance  of  his  grand  design  of  composing 
scenes  of  the  War  for  Independence.  He  was  cordially  re- 
ceived, and  remained  there  three  weeks.  During  that  time 
Washington  wrote  as  follows  to  Mr.  Hopkinson,  dated  at 
Mount  Yernon,  May  16,  1785  : 

"DEAR  SIR:  'In  for  a  penny  in  for  a  pound,'  is  an  old 
adage.  I  am  so  hackneyed  to  the  touches  of  the  painter's 
pencil,  that  I  am  now  altogether  at  their  beck,  and  sit,  like 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATION'S.  167 

Patience  on  a  monument,  whilst  they  are  delineating  the  lines 
of  my  face. 

"  It  is  a  proof  among  many  others  of  what  habit  and  custom 
can  effect.  At  first  I  was  as  impatient  at  the  request,  and  as 
restive  under  the  operation,  as  a  colt  is  of  the  saddle.  The 
next  time  I  submitted  very  reluctantly,  but  with  less  flouncing. 
Now  no  dray  moves  more  readily  to  the  thill  than  I  do  to 
the  painter's  chair.  It  may  easily  be  conceived,  therefore,  that 
I  yielded  a  ready  obedience  to  your  request,  and  to  the  views 
of  Mr.  Pine. 

"  Letters  from  England,  recommendatory  of  this  gentleman, 
came  to  my  hand  previous  to  his  arrival  in  America,  not  only 
as  an  artist  of  acknowledged  eminence,  but  as  one  who  had 
discovered  a  friendly  disposition  toward  this  country,  for 
which  it  seems  he  had  been  marked." 

While  at  Mount  Vernon  Pine  painted  the  portraits  of  two 
of  Mrs.  Washington's  grandchildren.  These  were  Elizabeth 
Parke  Custis,  then  about  nine  years  of  age,  who  afterward 
married  Mr.  Law,  a  wealthy  English  gentleman ;  and  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  last  survivor  of  his  family,  who 
died  at  Arlington  House,  on  the  Potomac,  in  the  autumn  of 
185T.  The  pictures  are  exquisitely  painted,  and,  like  all  of 
Pine's  productions,  the  colors  retain  their  original  vividness. 

Elizabeth  is  represented  as  a  beautiful  girl,  with  rich  brown 
hair  lying  in  careless  curls,  and  in  great  profusion,  upon  her 
head  and  neck,  her  bosom  covered  with  very  light  drapery, 
and  having  lying  upon  it  the  miniature  of  her  father,  John 
Parke  Custis  (printed  on  page  84  of  this  volume),  suspended 
by  a  ribbon  around  her  neck. 


168 


MOUNT     VERNON 


ELIZABETH    PARKE    CUSTIS. 


The  brother  was  then  between  four  and  five  years  of  age. 
He  is  represented  as  a  fair-haired  child,  with  loose  summer 
garments,  and  carrying  in  his  hand  a  branch  with  two  or 
three  leaves  upon  it.  These  pictures  now  occupy  a  con- 
spicuous place  upon  the  walls  of  the  drawing-room  at  Arling- 
ton House. 

Pine's  grand  design  was  never  carried' out.  He  died  four 
or  five  years  after  his  visit  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  his  family 
returned  to  England.  The  portraits  which  he  had  painted 
were  sold  and  scattered.  That  of  Washington  was  afterward 
found  in  Montreal,  and  purchased  by  the  late  Henry  Brevoort, 
of  Bedford,  Long  Island,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  his  son, 
J.  Carson  Brevoort. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


169 


G.    W.    P.    CUSTIS    WHEN    A    CHILD. 


A  few  weeks  after  Pine  left  Mount  Yernon,  and  while  the 
plasterers  were  at  work  ornamenting  the  ceiling  of  the  great 
drawing-room  of  the  mansion,  then  just  completed,  there  was 
an  arrival  at  the  home  of  Washington  of  an  extraordinary 
character.  It  was  a  pack  of  French  hounds,  sent  to  him  by 
Lafayette.  On  the  1st  of  September  Washington  wrote  to  the 
marquis,  saying :  "  The  hounds  which  you  were  so  obliging  as 
to  send,  arrived  safe,  and  are  of  promising  appearance.  To 
Monsieur  le  Comte  Doilliamson  (if  I  miscall  him,  your  hand- 
writing is  to  blame,  and  in  honor  you  are  bound  to  rectify  the 
error),  and  in  an  especial  manner  to  his  fair  Comtesse,  my 
thanks  are  due  for  this  favor.  The  enclosed  letter,  which  I 


170  MOUNT     VERNON 

give  you  the  trouble  of  forwarding,  contains  my  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  obliging  attention  to  me  on  this  occasion." 

"While  Washington  thanked  Lafayette  and  his  friends  for 
their  kindly  offices,  he  certainly  did  not  feel  specially  thankful 
for  the  hounds.,  During  the  war,  his  hunting  establishment, 
which  had  been  perfect,  had  been  almost  broken  up,  and  he 
felt  no  disposition  to  renew  it.  His  kennel,  which  was  situated 
very  near  the  site  of  the  present  tomb  of  Washington,  was 
quite  dilapidated  ;  and  the  paling  which  enclosed  it  and  a  fine 
spring  of  water,  had  almost  disappeared.  Vulcan  and  True- 
love,  Ringwood  and  Sweetlips,  Singer  and  Forester,  Music 
and  Rockwood — hounds  of  note  on  the  master's  register  when 
he  left  Mount  Vernon  for  the  senate — were  missing  or  were 
too  old  for  service  when  he  returned,  and  for  only  about  three 
years  afterward  did  he  keep  any  hounds  at  all.  Those  sent  by 
Lafayette  were  of  great  size  and  strength.  Because  of  their 
fierce  disposition  they  were  kept  closely  confined ;  and,  a  few 
months  after  their  arrival,  Washington  broke  up  his  kennel, 
gave  away  his  hounds,  bade  adieu  to  the  chase  forever,  and, 
for  his  amusement,  formed  a  fine  deer-park  below  the  mansion, 
upon  a  beautiful  slope  extending  to  the  river. 

The  late  Mr.  Custis  has  left  on  record  the  following  anec- 
dote :  "  Of  the  French  hounds,  there  was  one  named  Vulcan, 
and  we  bear  him  the  better  in  reminiscence,  from  having  often 
bestrid  his  ample  back  in  the  days  of  our  juvenility.  It  hap- 
pened that  upon  a  large  company  sitting  down  to  dinner  at 
Mount  Yernon  one  day,  the  lady  of  the  mansion  (my  grand- 
mother) discovered  that  the  ham,  the  pride  of  every  Virginia 
housewife's  table,  was  missing  from  its  accustomed  post  of 
honor.  Upon  questioning  Frank,  the  butler,  this  portly,  and 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  1Y1 

at  the  same  time  the  most  polite  and  accomplished  of  all 
butlers,  observed  that  a  ham,  yes,  a  very  fine  ham,  had  been 
prepared,  agreeably  to  the  Madam's  orders,  but  lo  and  behold ! 
who  should  come  into  the  kitchen,  while  the  savory  ham  was 
smoking  in  its  dish,  but  old  Vulcan  the  hound,  and  without 
more  ado  fastened  his  fangs  into  it ;  and  although  they  of  the 
kitchen  had  stood  to  such  arms  as  they  could  get,  and  had 
fought  the  old  spoiler  desperately,  yet  Vulcan  had  finally 
triumphed,  and  bore  off  the  prize,  aye,  '  cleanly,  under  the 
keeper's  nose.'  The  lady  by  no  means  relished  the  loss  of  a 
dish  which  formed  the  pride  of  her  table,  and  uttered  some 
remarks  by  no  means  favorable  to  old  Vulcan,  or  indeed  to 
dogs  in  general ;  while  the  Chief,  having  heard  the  story,  com- 
municated it  to  his  guests,  and,  with  them,  laughed  heartily  at 
the  exploit  of  the  stag-hound" 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  arrival  of  the  French 
hounds,  came  a  magnificent  present  from  Samuel  Yaughan,  a 
wealthy  resident  of  London,  who  had  conceived  a  passionate 
admiration  for  the  character  of  Washington.  The  object  pre- 
sented was  a  very  beautiful  chimney-piece,  wrought  in  Italy, 
from  the  finest  white  and  Sienite  marbles,  for  Mr.  Yaughan's 
own  use.  At  the  time  of  its  arrival  in  England  that  gentleman 
was  informed  of  the  improvements  in  the  mansion  then  in 
progress  at  Mount  Vernon,  and,  without  unpacking  it,  he  sent 
it  directly  to  Washington.  It  is  exquisitely  wrought  in  every 
part.  Upon  three  tablets  of  the  frieze,  under  the  highly  orna- 
mented mantel,  are  sculptured,  in  very  high  relief,  in  white 
marble,  pleasant  domestic  scenes  in  agricultural  life.  Upon 
the  centre  tablet,  which  is  the  largest,  is  an  evening  scene.  A 
husbandman,  with  his  wife  and  little  child,  is  returning  from  the 


172 


MOUNT     VKRNON 


ITALIAN    CHIMNEY-PIECE. 


fields,  driving  a  cow  and  a  flock  of  sheep.  Many  of  the  latter 
are  seen  going  into  a  fold  for  the  night,  and  beyond  the  en- 
closure is  seen  the  setting  sun.  On  the  left  of  -the  central 
tablet  is  represented  a  boy,  harnessing  a  span  of  horses,  to  be 
attached  to  a  plough.  On  the  right  is  a  cottage.  The  house- 
wife, having  just  drawn  a  bucket  of  water  from  the  well,  is 
pouring  it  into  a  tub  for  the  cleansing  of  vegetables,  which  are 
seen  lying  by  the  side  of  it.  Her  little  girl  has  her  apron  full, 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


173 


TABLET  OX  THE  LEFT. 


CENTRE  TABLET. 


TABLET  OX  THE  RIGHT. 


174 


MOUNT     V  E  R  Jf  0  N 


and  is  eating  a  turnip,  while  a  pig  is  coming  out  of  a  rickety 
sty  near  by. 

The  fireplace  is  an  enormous  iron  grate,  capable  of  contain- 
ing several  bushels  of  coal ;  and  the  hearth  is  of  white  marble, 
inlaid  with  ornaments  of  polished  maroon-colored  marble,  or 
encaustic  tile.  Upon  the  shelf  are  two  small  dark-blue  vases, 
covered  with  flowers,  delicately  painted ;  and  between  these 
are  two  bronze  candelabra.  The  whole  present  a  most  pleas- 
ing picture  to  the  eye;  and  the  interest  is  increased  by  the 
associations  which  cluster  around  these  objects,  for  they  were 
there  sixty  ytars  ago,  when  Washington  received  his  guests  in 
the  spacious  drawing-room,  of  which  that  chimney-piece  is  the 
greatest  ornament. 


PUHCELAIN    VASES. 


"With  the  elegant  chimney-piece  Mr.  Yaughan  sent  three  larger 
and  more  beautiful  porcelain  vases,  than  those  which  now  stand 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  175 

upon  the  shelf.  They  were  made  in  India,  and  ornamented  in 
London.  The  ground  is  a  dark  blue,  with  delicate  gilt  scroll 
and  leaf  ornaments,  with  landscapes  painted  upon  one  side  and 
animals  upon  the  other.  These  are  now  at  Arlington  House. 

Washington  appears  to  have  received  other  presents  from 
Mr.  Yaughan.  On  the  30th  of  November,  1785,  he  wrote  to 
his  London  friend,  saying :  "  I  have  lately  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Yaughan  (your  son),  of  Jamaica,  accompanied  by  a 
puncheon  of  rum,  which  he  informs  rne  was  sent  by  your  order 
as  a  present  for  me.  Indeed,  my  dear  sir,  you  overwhelm 
me  with  your  favors,  and  lay  me  under  too  many  obligations 
to  leave  a  hope  remaining  of  discharging  them."  He  had 
attempted  to  do  so  in  a  degree,  for  in  the  same  letter,  he  says : 
"  Hearing  of  the  distress  in  which  that  island,  with  others  in 
the  West  Indies,  is  involved  by  the  late  hurricane,  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  requesting  Mr.  Yaughan's  acceptance,  for 
his  own  use,  of  a  few  barrels  of  superfine  flour  of  my  own 
manufacturing." 

Two  or  three  months  later  than  the  date  of  this  letter,  an- 
other present  for  Washington  reached  Mount  Yernon,  of  more 
intrinsic  value  than  all  that  he  had  received  since  his  retire- 
ment from  the  army.  It  consisted  of  three  asses,  a  jack  and 
two  jennies,  selected  from  the  royal  stud  at  Madrid,  and  sent 
to  him  as  a  compliment  from  the  king  of  Spain.  His  "  Catholic 
Majesty"  having  been  informed  that  Washington  was  endeav- 
oring to  procure  these  animals  of  the  best  breed  in  Europe,  for 
the  purpose  of  rearing  mules  on  his  estates,  made  him  this 
present,  and  sent  over  with  them  a  person  acquainted  with 
the  mode  of  treating  them,  who  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  journeyed  to  Mount  Yernon  by  land. 


176  MOUNT     VERNON 

According  to  a  statement  of  the  late  Mr.  Custis,  the  jack, 
called  the  Royal  Gift,  was  sixteen  hands  high,  of  a  gray  color, 
heavily  made,  and  of  a  sluggish  disposition.  "  At  the  same 
time,"  says  Mr.  Custis,  "  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  sent  out  a 
jack  and  jennies  from  the  island  of  Malta.  This  jack,  called 
the  Knight  of  Malta,  was  a  suberb  animal,  black  color,  with 
the  form  of  a  stag  and  the  ferocity  of  a  tiger.  "Washington 
availed  himself  of  the  best  qualities  of  the  two  jacks  by  cross- 
ing the  breeds,  and  hence  obtained  a  favorite  jack,  called 
Compound,  which  animal  united  the  size  and  strength  of  the 
Gift  with  the  high  courage  and  activity  of  the  Knight.  The 
General  bred  some  very  superior  mules  from  his  coach  mares. 
In  a  few  years  the  estate  of  Mount  Vernon  became  stocked 
with  mules  of  a  superior  order,  some  of  them  rising  to  the 
height  of  sixteen  hands,  and  of  great  power  and  usefulness. 
One  wagon  team  of  four  mules  sold  at  the  sale  of  the  Gen- 
eral's effects  for  eight  hundred  dollars." 

Washington,  through  Florida  Bianca,  the  prime  minister  of 
Spain,  most  sincerely  thanked  his  majesty  for  a  present  so 
truly  valuable,  in  connection  with  his  country's  industrial 
operations  ;  and  in  answer,  that  functionary  replied,  "  It  will 
give  pleasure  to  his  majesty,  that  opportunities  of  a  higher 
nature  may  offer,  to  prove  the  great  esteem  he  entertains  for 
your  Excellency's  personal  merit,  singular  virtues,  and  char- 
acter." 

At  the  close  of  1785,  Washington  had  completed  the  enlarge- 
ment of  his  house,  and  was  prepared  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  increasing  number  of  his  visitors.  He  found  his  time  so 
much  occupied  with  these,  and  his  equally  increasing  corre- 
spondence, that  he  resolved  to  employ  a  secretary,  who  should, 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  177 

at  the  same  time,  perform  the  duties  of  instructor  of  his  adopted 
children.  He  addressed  Genera-l  Lincoln  on  the  subject,  who 
warmly  recommended  Tobias  Lear,  a  young  gentleman  of 
Portsmouth,  in  New  Hampshire,  who  had  recently  graduated 
at  Harvard  University.  In  reply,  Washington  said: 

"  Mr.  Lear,  or  any  other  who  may  come  into  my  family  in 
the  blended  character  of  preceptor  to  the  children  and  clerk  or 
private  secretary  to  me,  will  sit  at  my  table,  will  live  as  I  live, 
will  mix  with  the  company  who  resort  to  the  house,  and  will 
be  treated  in  every  respect  with  civility  and  proper  attention." 

A  satisfactory  arrangement  was  made,  which  proved  a  hap- 
py one.  Mr.  Lear  went  to  Mount  Yernon,  and  resided  there 
much  of  the  time  afterward,  until  death  removed  the  master. 
Washington  became  very  fond  of  him.  He  married,  and 
lost  his  wife  there;  and  in  his  will,  Washington  wrote:  "To 
Tobias  Lear  I  give  the  use  of  the  farm  which  he  now  holds,  io 
virtue  of  a  lease  from  me  to  him  and  his  deceased  wife  (for 
and  during  their  natural  lives),  free  from  rent  during  his  life." 
We  shall  meet  Mr.  Lear  again  under  solemn  circumstances 
beneath  the  roof  of  Mount  Vernon  mansion. 

In  his  letter  to  General  Lincoln  respecting  Mr.  Lear,  Wash- 
ington expressed  his  expectation  that  his  correspondence  would 
decline,  for  he  had  resolved  to  remain  strictly  a  private  citizen. 
On  the  contrary,  circumstances  which  speedily  arose,  caused 
his  correspondence  to  greatly  increase,  and  the  retired  soldier 
soon  found  himself  borne  out  upon  the  turbulent  waves  of 
political  life.  He  was  too  patriotic  to  shrink  from  duty  when 
his  country  demanded  his  services,  and  therefore  events  soon 
drew  him  from  the  coveted  pleasures  of  his  quiet  home. 

Washington,  with  other  sagacious  men,  had  watched  the 
12 


178  MOUNT    VERNON 

course  of  public  affairs  since  the  close  of  the  war  with  the 
deepest  solicitude,  for  he  perceived  imminent  dangers  on  every 
side.  The  country  had  become  impoverished  by  the  struggle, 
and  was  burdened  with  an  enormous  debt,  domestic  and  foreign ; 
and  the  Congress  possessed  no  executive  powers  adequate  to  a 
provision  of  means  for  the  liquidation  of  those  debts  by  direct 
taxation. 

For  a  long  time  it  had  been  clearly  perceived  that,  while 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  entered  into  by  the  respective 
states,  formed  a  sufficient  constitution  of  government  during 
the  progress  of  the  war,  they  were  not  adapted  to  the  public 
wants  in  the  new  condition  of  an  independent  sovereignty  in 
which  the  people  found  themselves.  There  appeared  abund- 
ant necessity  for  a  greater  centralization  of  power,  by  which 
the  general  government  could  act  more  efficiently  for  the  pub- 
lic good.  ' 

As  early  as  the  summer  of  1782,  the  legislature  of  New 
York,  on  the  suggestion  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  had  recom- 
mended to  each  state  "  to  adopt  the  measure  of  assembling  a 
GENERAL  CONVENTION  OF  THE  STATES,  specially  authorized  to 
revise  and  amend  the  Confederation  y"  and  in  the  spring  of 
1786  a  strong  desire  was  felt  in  many  parts  of  the  country  to 
have  such  convention. 

To  a  great  extent  the  people  had  lost  all  regard  for  the 
authority  of  Congress,  and  the  commercial  affairs  of  the 
country  had  become  wretchedly  deranged.  Every  thing 
seemed  to  be  tending  toward  utter  chaos ;  and  many  were 
the  anxious  councils  held  by  "Washington  and  others  under  the 
roof  of  Mount  Vernon,  when  the  buds  and  the  birds  first 
appeared  in  Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1786.  His  correspond- 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  179 

ence  with  his  compatriots  in  other  states  on  the  subject  became 
quite  extended ;  and  his  letters  at  this  time,  full  of  the  impor- 
tant topic,  are  remarkable  for  their  words  of  wisdom  and  tone 
of  caution. 

"  I  often  think  of  our  situation,  and  view  it  with  concern," 
he  wrote  to  John  Jay  in  May.  "  From  the  high  ground  we 
stood  upon,  from  the  plain  path  which  invited  our  footsteps,  to 
be  so  fallen,  so  lost,  is  really  mortifying."  He  saw  the  ten- 
dency toward  ruin  of  the  fair  fabric  which  his  wisdom  and 
prowess  had  helped  to  raise,  and  his  faith  in  public  men  had 
become  \veakened.  "  My  fear  is,"  he  said,  "  that  the  people 
are  not  sufficiently  misled  to  retract  from  error.  To  be  plainer, 
I  think  there  is  more  wickedness  than  ignorance  mixed  in  our 
councils.  Under  this  impression  I  scarcely  know  what  opinion 
to  entertain  of  a  general  convention." 

Time  and  circumstances  work  out  many  changes  in  human 
opinions.  Washington's  were  modified  by  the  logic  of  events, 
and  he  soon  favored  a  convention  of  the  states.  He  received 
letters  from  all  parts  of  the  country  upon  the  subject  of  public 
affairs,  and  his  answers,  widely  circulated,  had  a  commanding 
influence.  In  his  quiet  home  at  Mount  Yernon  he  was  silently 
wielding  the  powers  of  a  statesman,  and  his  opinions  were 
eagerly  sought. 

In  1785,  commissioners  appointed  by  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, to  form  a  compact  relative  to  the  navigation  of  the 
waters  belonging  to  them  in  common,  had  visited  Mount 
Vernon  to  consult  with  the  retired  soldier ;  and  suggestions 
were  then  made  and  discussed  concerning  a  stronger  federal 
government,  which  led  to  important  results.  It  led,  primarily, 
to  a  general  discussion  by  the  people  of  the  subject  of  the  inef- 


180  MOUNT     VKRXON 

ficiency  of  the  federal  government ;  then  to  a  convention  of 
delegates  from  a  few  states  at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  in 
September,  1786 ;  and,  finally,  to  a  more  important  conven- 
tion the  following  year,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Con- 
gress. The  latter  convention,  composed  of  delegates  from 
every  state  in  the  union  except  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode 
Island,  commenced  its  session  in  Philadelphia  toward  the 
close  of  May,  1787. 

Washington  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  Virginia  delegation, 
but  for  some  time  he  refused  to  accept  the  position,  having 
solemnly  declared  that  he  would  never  appear  in  public  life 
again.  But  on  all  occasions  that  great  man  yielded  private 
considerations  to  the  public  good.  After  consultations  with 
friends  he  consented  to  serve,  and  on  the  9th  of  May  he  set 
out  in  his  carriage  from  Mount  Vernon  on  a  journey  to  Phila- 
delphia. He  was  chosen  president  of  the  convention  by 
unanimous  vote,  and  for  nearly  four  months  he  presided  over 
the  deliberations  of  that  august  assembly  with  great  dignity. 
The  convention  adjourned  on  the  12th  of  September.  On  that 
day  the  present  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  was 
adopted,  as  a  substitute  for  the  ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 
That  constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people  for  ratification. 
Toward  the  close  of  1788  the  majority  of  the  states  having 
signified  their  approval  of  it,  the  people  proceeded  to  choose 

a  chief  magistrate  of  the  republic. 

'  • 
For  more  than  two  years  "Washington  kept-  a  vigilant  and 

anxious  eye  upon  the  movements  of  the  public  mind  in  rela- 
tion to  the  federal  constitution.  Day  by  day  his  correspond- 
ence increased,  and  he  found  himself  again  upon  the  sea  of 
political  life.  Meanwhile  the  hospitable  mansion  at  Mount 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS . 


181 


Vernon  was  frequently  filled  with  visitors;  and  one  whom 
Washington  loved,  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  friend,  was  invited 
there  as  a  guest,  with  a  request  that  he  should  remain  as  long 


/** 

COLONKL    DAY1D    HUMPHREYS. 

as  the  house  should  be  agreeable  to  him.  That  guest  was 
David  Humphreys,  a  native  of  Derby,  Connecticut,  and  then 
about  thirty  five  years  of  age.  He  had  received  the  diploma 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts  at  Yale  College  in  1771,  when  the  eminent 
Doctor  Daggett  was  president.  His  cotemporaries  there  were 
Dwight,  Trumbull,  and  Barlow,  a  triad  of  poets,  with  whom 
he  wj,s  associated  in  paying  court  to  the  muse  of  song.  Hum- 
phreys was  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  the  lord  of  Phillipse's 
manor,  on  the  Hudson,  for  awhile,  and  then  entered  the  con- 
tinental army  as  a  captain.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel  during  the  war,  and  toward  the  close  became  one  of 
Washington's  favorite  aides.  He  went  abroad  in  1784,  as 


182  MOUNT     VERNON 

secretary  to  the  commission  for  negotiating  treaties  of  com- 
merce with  foreign  powers.  He  was  abroad  two  years,  and 
on  his  return  made  quite  a  protracted  visit  at  Mount  Yernon. 
That  was  in  1786 ;  and  one  evening  in  August,  while  reclining 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  shadows  of  its  wooded  slopes, 
he  began  the  composition  of  an  ode  entitled  "Mount  Vernon" 
commencing  with  the  following  stanza  : 


"By  broad  Potowmack's  azure  tide, 
Where  Vernon's  Mount,  in  sylvan  pride, 

Displays  its  beauties  far, 
Great  WASHINGTON,  to  peaceful  shades, 
Where  no  uuhallow'd  wish  invades, 

Retir'd  from  fields  of  war." 


Humphreys  brought  with  him  from  France,  at  the  special 
request  of  the  king,  a  token  of  his  "most  Christian  majesty's" 
regard  for  "Washington.  It  was  an  engraving  of  a  full-length 
portrait  of  the  king,  Lotris  XVI.,  in  his  state  robes,  enclosed  in 
a  superb  gilt  frame,  made  expressly  for  the  occasion.  At  thv. 
top,  surrounded  by  appropriate  emblems,  are  the  royal  arms 
of  France,  and,  at  the  bottom,  the  arms  of  the  Washington 
family.  In  the  corners  are  the  monograms  of  the  king  and 
Washington—"  L.  L.  XVI."  and  "  G.  W."  These— the  arms 
and  the  emblematic  ornaments — are  in  relief.  The  picture,  in 
its  original  frame,  is  at  Mount  Vernon,  dimmed  and  darkened 
by  age  and  neglect. 

In  1788,  Humphreys,  as  we  have  just  observed,  became  a 
resident  at  Mount  Vernon ;  and  there  he  wrote  a  Life  of 
General  Israel  Putnam.  Humphreys  had  been  a  member  of 
that-  officer's  military  family  in  the  war  for  independence ;  and 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


183 


ENGRAVING    OP   LOUIS   XVI. 


just  before  his  departure  for  Mount  Yernon,  he  visited  the 
veteran  at  his  home  in  Connecticut,  and  received  from  his  own 
lips  many  of  the  stirring  narratives  recorded  in  that  biography. 
At  Mount  Yernon  Humphreys  translated,  from  the  French 
of  M.  Le  Mierre,  the  tragedy  of  The  Widow  of  Malabar, 
which  was  first  brought  out  at  the  theatre  in  Philadelphia,  by 
Hallam  and  Wignel  (heads  of  the  old  American  company  of 
players),  in  May,  1790.  The  prologue,  written  by  John  Trum- 


184  MOUNT     VERNON 

bull,  author  of  M'Fingall,  was  spoken  ou  tiiat  occasion  by 
Mr.  Ilallain,  and  the  epilogue,  written  by  Humphreys,  was 
spoken  by  Mrs.  Henry. 

While  Colonel  Humphreys  was  at  Mount  Yernon  in  the 
autumn  of  1788,  distinguished  visitors  were  entertained  there 
for  a  few  days.  These  were  the  Count  de  Moustier,  the  French 
minister,  a  handsome  and  polite  man ;  his  sister,  the  Mar- 
chioness de  Brienne — who  was  illnaturedly  described  by  Gen- 
eral Armstrong  as  a  "  little,  singular,  whimsical,  hysterical  old 
woman,  whose  delight  is  in  playing  with  a  negro  child  and 
caressing  a  monkey" — and  her  son,  M,  Dupont.  They  had 
made  a  long  journey  from  New  Hampshire,  by  way  of  Fort 
Schuyler  (now  Utica)  on  the  Mohawk  River,  where  they  en- 
joyed the  spectacle  of  an  Indian  treaty. 

The  Marchioness  de  Brienne  was  quite  an  accomplished 
writer  and  skilful  amateur  artist;  and  in  the  evening  of  the 
day  when  Washington  was  inaugurated  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  following  year,  the  front  of  her  brother's 
house  was  beautifully  decorated  with  paintings  by  her  own 
hand,  suggestive  of  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future  in 
American  history.  These  wrere  illuminated  by  borderings  of 
lamps  upon  the  doors  and  windows. 

In  the  autumn  of  th^t  year  the  marchioness  persuaded 
President  Washington  to  sit  to  her  for  his  portrait  in  minia- 
ture. In  his  diary,  on  Saturday,  the  3d  of  October,  he  re- 
corded : 

"  Walked  in  the  afternoon,  and  sat  about  two  o'clock  for 

\ 
Madam  de  Brehan  [Brienne]  to  complete  a  miniature  profile 

of  me,  which  she  had  begun  from  memory,  and  which  she 
had  made  exceedingly  like  the  original." 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


185 


The  marchioness  made  several  copies  of  this  picture,  one  of 
which  Washington  presented  to  Mrs.  Bingham,  of  Philadel- 
phia. From  another,  an  engraving  was  afterward  made  in 
Paris,  and  several  impressions  were  sent  to  Washington.  She 


WASHINGTON   AND   LAFAYETTE. 


also  painted  on  copper,  in  medallion  form,  the  profiles  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lafayette,  in  miniature,  within  the  same  circumfer- 
ence, and  presented  the  picture  to  Washington.  It  is  now  at 
Arlington  House. 

Another  foreign  lady,  the  wife  of  Peter  J.  Yon  Berckel,  of 
Rotterdam,  the  first  embassador  from  Holland  to  the  United 
States,  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  character  of  Washington,  and 
painted  an  allegorical  picture  in  testimony  of  her  reverence  for 
the  Liberator  of  his  country.  It  was  executed  upon  copper, 
eighteen  by  twenty  inches  in  size.  The  design,  intending  to  be 
complimentary  to  Washington,  was  well  conceived.  Upon  the 
top  of  a  short,  fluted  column,  was  a  bust  of  Washington,  crowned 


186 


MOUNT     V  E  R  N  0  X 


WASHINGTON  S   DESTINY. 


with  a  military  and  civic  wreatli.  This  stood  near  the  entrance 
to  a  cave  where  the  Parcse  or  Fates — Clotho  the  Spinster,  Lach- 
esis  the  Allotter,  and  Atropos  the  Unchangeable — were  seen, 
busy  with  the  destinies  of  the  patriot.  Clotho  was  sitting  with 
her  distaff,  spinning  the  thread  of  his  life,  and  Lachesis  was 
receiving  it.  Atropos  was  jnst  stepping  forward  with  open 
shears  to  cut  it,  wrhen  Immortality,  represented  as  a  beautiful 
youth,  seized  the  precious  thread,  and  gave  it  to  Fame,  a 
winged  female,  with  a  trumpet,  in  the  skies,  who  bore  it  on 
to  future  ages.  The  latter  thought  was  beautifully  expressed 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  187 

by  Thomas  Moore,  many  years  later,  when  he  thus  sang  of  a 
poet's  immortality : 

"  Even  so,  though  thy  memory  should  now  die  away, 
'Twill  be  caught  up  again  in  some  happier  day, 
And  the  hearts  and  the  voices  of  Erin  prolong, 
Through  the  answering  Future,  thy  name  and  thy  song.'1 

This  picture  was  presented  to  Washington  by  Mr.  Von  Berck- 
el,  with  the  following  lines,  composed  by  the  fair  artist  : 

"In  vain  the  sisters  ply  their  busy  care, 
To  reel  off  years  from  Glory's  deathless  heir: 
Frail  things  shall  pass,  his  fame  shall  never  die, 
Rescued  from  Fate  by  Immortality." 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Washington,  the  painting  became  the 
property  of  the  late  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  who  presented  it  to  the 
venerable  General  C.  C.  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  to  whose 
military  family  he  had  belonged.  While  on  a  visit  at  Arling- 
ton House,  a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Custis  described  the  picture  to 
the  writer,  at  the  same  time  illustrating  his  description  by  a 
rude  pencil  sketch,  of  which  the  accompanying  engraving  is 
a  fac-simile  on  a  smaller  scale.  Such  was  the  impression  of 
the  picture  upon  the  memory  of  that  venerable  man,  after  a 
lapse  of  fifty  years. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  the  French  minister  and  his  party 
from  Mount  Yernon,  two  other  French  gentlemen,  with  letters 
of  introduction,  visited  Washington.  These  were  M.  de  War- 
ville,  and  M.  St.  Frie,  who,  Washington  said,  were  "  intelligent, 
discreet,  and  disposed  to  receive  favorable  impressions  of  Amer- 
ica." Brissot  de  Warville  was  young,  handsome,  and  full  of 
enthusiasm.  In  his  letter  of  introduction,  Lafayette  said,  "  He 


' 
• 


188  MOUNT     VERNON 

is  very  clever,  and  wishes  much  to  be  presented  to  you.  He 
intends  to  write  a  history  of  America,  and  is,  of  course,  desir- 
ous to  have  a  peep  into  your  papers,  which  appears  to  me 
a  deserved  condescension,  as  he  is  fond  of  America,  writes 
pretty  well,  and  will  set  matters  in  a  proper  light." 

Brissot  de  Warville  did  not  write  a  history  of  America,  but 
during  the  French  revolution  that  soon  followed  this  visit,  he 
became  quite  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  history  of  his  own 
country.  He  was  intensely  democratic,  and  when  he  returned 
to  France,  he  appeared  in  the  streets  of  Paris  in  the  garb  of  a 
Philadelphia  Quaker,  with  which  he  was  enamored.  In  the 
French  revolution  he  became  a  Girondist  leader.  He  finally 
made  himself  obnoxious  to  Robespierre  and  his  party  by  refus 
ing  to  vote  for  the  execution  of  the  king,  and  was  doomed  to 
suffer  death  on  the  guillotine.  He  fell  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1793,  and  the  surviving  Girondists  were  called  Brissotins. 

In  his  letters,  Brissot  de  Warville  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of 
America,  and  after  his  visit  at  Mount  Yernon,  he  wrote  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  saying,  "  Every  thing  about  the  house  has  an  air 
of  simplicity  ;  the  table  is  good,  but  not  ostentatious,  and  no 
deviation  is  seen  from  regularity  and  domestic  economy.  She 
superintends  the  whole,  and  joins  to  the  qualities  of  an  excel- 
lent housewife,  the  simple  dignity  which  ought  to  characterize 
a  woman  whose  husband  has  acted  the  greatest  part  on  the 
theatre  of  human  affairs,  while  possessing  that  amiability  and 
manifesting  that  attention  to  strangers  which  makes  hospitality 
so  charming." 

As  the  year  1788  drew  to  a  close,  Washington  felt  well  as- 
sured that  he  would  be  called  by  the  voice  of  the  nation  to 
the  important  position  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  189 

Earl}7  in  September  it  had  been  ascertained  that  a  sufficient 
number  of  states  had  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution,  to  make 
it  the  organic  law  of  the  land,  and  on  the  1 3th,  Congress  passed 
an  act,  appointing  the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  1789,  for 
the  people  to  choose  electors  of  a  President,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  that  constitution;  the  first  Wednesday  in  Feb- 
ruary following  for  the  electors  to  meet  and  make  a  choice ; 
and  the  first  Wednesday  in  March  for  the  new  government  to 
be  organized  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  hearts  of  all  were  now  turned  toward  Washington  as 
the  man  to  whom  the  helm  of  state  should  be  given,  and  his 
friends,  well  knowing  his  reluctance  to  re-enter  public  life, 
commenced  writing  persuasive  letters  to  him.  To  all  of  them 
he  expressed  sentiments  such  as  he  wrote  to  Lafayette,  when 
he  said  of  the  proffered  office — "  It  has  no  fascinating  allure- 
ment for  me.  At  my  time  of  life  and  under  my  circumstances, 
the  increasing  infirmities  of  nature  and  the  growing  love  of 
retirement  do  not  permit  me  to  entertain  a  wish  beyond  that 
of  living  and  dying  an  honest  man  on  my  own  farm.  Let 
those  follow  the  pursuits  of  ambition  and  fame  who  have  a 
keener  relish  for  them,  or  who  may  have  more  years  in  store 
for  the  enjoyment  of  them." 

The  election  was  held  at  the  appointed  time,  and  Washington 
was  chosen  President  of  the  United  States  for  four  years  from 
the  4th  of  March  ensuing.  He  now  again  yielded  his  own 
wishes  to  the  claims  of  his  country,  and  prepared  to  leave  his 
beloved  home.  Meanwhile,  office-seekers  were  sending  him 
letters  by  scores,  and  sometimes  they  came  in  person  to  solicit 
favor  for  themselves  or  friends.  He  had  already  expressed  his 
fixed  determination  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  "  not 


190  MOUNT    VERNON 

only  unfettered  by  promises,  but  even  uncliargeable  with  cre- 
ating or  feeding  the  expectation  of  any  man  living"  for  his 
"assistance  to  office."  By  this  declaration  applicants  soon 
learned  the  wisdom  of  silence. 

But  there  were  men  who  sought  the  influence  of  his  position, 
upon  whom  he  not  only  looked  with  favor  but  with  delight. 
These  were  they  who  had  schemes  which,  though  cherished  by 
themselves  for  selfish  purposes,  would  be  of  great  advantage 
to  the  industrial  interests  of  the  country.  One  of  these  visited 
Mount  Yernon  at  the  close  of  March,  1789,  to  lay  before  the 
President  elect  some  facts  concerning  the  introduction  of  the 
manufacture  of  glass  into  America.  A  gentleman  of  Alex- 
andria, in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  thus  describes  the  event : 

"  I  am  just  returned  from  Mount  Vernon,  where  I  was 
present  at  a  scene  which  made  every  patriotic  pulse  vibrate 
with  the  most  pleasurable  sensations. 

"  This,  sir,  was  a  tribute  of  a  new  citizen  of  the  United 
States  to  their  illustrious  President.  Mr.  John  F.  Ameburg, 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  an  artist  of  considerable  eminence, 
emigrated  to  this  country  with  a  large  family  and  extensive 
fortune,  and  having  contemplated  the  said  commerce,  etc.,  he 
selected,  with  great  prudence,  a  central  situation  for  the 
establishment  of  a  manufactory  of  the  first  magnitude  and 
importance,  in  which  he  has  succeeded  beyond  all  hope  and 
expectation.  Through  his  vast  exertions  he  is  now  enabled  to 
supply  the  United  States  with  every  species  of  glass,  the 
quality  of  Avhich  is  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  that  imported, 
while  he  actually  undersells  all  foreign  traders  in  that  article 
in  our  own  markets.  To  the  testimony  of  the  ablest  connois- 
seurs and  characters  of  taste  and  respectability,  it  only  remain- 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  191 

ed  for  Mr.  Ameburg  to  court  the  patronage  of  the  great 
patriot;  and  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  an 
offering  to  his  excellency  of  two  capacious  goblets  of  flint 
glass,  exhibiting  the  general's  coat-of-arms,  etc. 

"The  conversation  naturally  embraced  and  discussed  our 
manufacturing  interests,  and  was  managed  with  such  delicate 
address,  as  to  pay  a  compliment  to  the  ingenuity  and  labors 
of  this  celebrated  artist,  who  has  supported,  without  intermis- 
sion, three  hundred  hands  these  three  years  past,  with  the 
utmost  order  and  character.  New  Bremen,  which  gives  ap- 
pellation to  this  manufactory,  is  situated  on  Monococy,  con- 
tiguous to  the  waters  of  the  Potomac,  by  which  he  may  in 
time  supply  the  seaport  towns  of  the  eastern  and  southern 
states,  and  thus  give  domestic  circulation  to  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  specie  remitted  annually  for  this  article  alone  to  the 
foreign  merchants." 

Washington  had  already  been  apprised  of  the  existence  of 
this  establishment,  for  in  a  letter  to  Jefferson,  in  February 
preceding,  he  said :  "A  factory  of  glass  is  established  upon  a 
large  scale  on  Monococy  river,  near  Fredericktown,  in  Mary- 
land. I  am  informed  it  will  this  year  produce  glass  of  various 
kinds,  nearly  to  the  amount  of  ten  thousand  pounds  value." 

So  tardily  did  the  members  of  the  Federal  Congress  assem- 
ble, that  a  quorum  was  not  present  at  the  capital  in  New 
York  until  the  beginning  of  April,  when  the  votes  of  the 
electoral  college  were  counted,  and  Washington  was  declared 
to  be  elected  President  of  the  United  States  by  the  unanimous 
voice  of  the  people.  That  delay  was  a  source  of  pleasure  to 
him.  In  a  letter  to  General  Knox,  he  compared  it  to  a 
reprieve ;  "  for,"  he  said,  "  in  confidence  I  tell  you  (with  the 


192  MOUNT    VERNON 

world  it  would  obtain  little  credit),  that  my  movements  to  the 
chair  of  government  will  be  accompanied  by  feelings  not 
unlike  those  of  a  culprit  who  is  going  to  the  place  of  his 
execution."  "  I  am  sensible,"  he  continued,  "  that  I  am  em- 
barking the  voice  of  the  people,  and  a  good  name  of  my  own 
on  this  voyage,  but  what  returns  will  be  made  for  them 
heaven  alone  can  foretell.  Integrity  and  firmness  are  all  I 
can  promise.  These,  be  the  voyage  long  or  short,  shall  never 
forsake  me,  although  I  may  be  deserted  by  all  men ;  for  of  the 
consolations  which  are  to  be  derived  from  these,  under  any 
circumstances,  the  world  cannot  deprive  me." 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States  was  organized  on  the  6th  of 
April,  and  John  Langdon,  a  representative  therein  from  New 
Hampshire,  was  chosen  its  president  pro  tempore.  As  soon  as 
the  votes  of  the  electoral  college  were  opened  and  counted,  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  illustrious  farmer  at  Mount  Yernon, 
notifying  him  of  the  fact  of  his  election.  This  letter,  with  an 
official  certificate,  was  conveyed  to  the  chief  magistrate  elect 
by  the  venerable  Secretary  Thomson,  who  arrived  at  Mount 
Vernon  on  Tuesday,  the  14th,  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  Washington  was  making  the  usual  tour  of 
his  farms,  and  the  secretary  was  cordially  received  by  Mrs. 
Washington,  who  had  enjoyed  his  friendship  and  the  hospitali- 
ties of  his  house  at  Philadelphia. 

On  his  return  from  the  fields  at  a  quarter  before  one,  Wash- 
ington greeted  Mr.  Thomson  with  much  warmth,  for  their 
friendship  was  most  sincere.  They  had  gone  through  a  long 
struggle  for  their  country's  liberation  hand  in  hand,  one  in  the 
field,  the  other  in  the  senate;  and  the  bond  of  sympathy, 
strengthened  by  retrospection,  was  powerful.  Thomson  was 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  193 

soon  invited  to  the  library,  where  he  revealed  the  object  of  his 
visit,  and  delivered  the  letter  of  President  Langdon.  Public 
affairs  at  once  became  the  topic  of  conversation,  and  long  did 


CHAIiLES    THOMSON. 


the  two  patriots  linger  at  the  table  that  day,  after  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, Colonel  Humphreys,  Mr.  Lear,  and  two  or  three  guests 
had  withdrawn.  Only  for  a  few  minutes  were  they  separated,, 
when  Washington,  in  his  private  study  in  an  upper  room, 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Langdon,  and  placed  it  in 
the  hands  of  a  servant  to  be  conveyed  to  the  post-office  at 
Alexandria : 

"MOUNT  VERNON,  \Uh  April,  1789. 

"  SIR  :  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  official  communica- 
tion, by  the  hand  of  Mr.  Secretary  Thomson,  about  one  o'clock 
this  day.     Having  concluded  to  obey  the  important  and  flat- 
13 


194:  MOUNT    VERNON 

tering  call  of  my  country,  and  having  been  impressed  with  the 
idea  of  the  expediency  of  my  being  with  Congress  at  as  early 
a  period  as  possible,  I  propose  to  commence  my  journey  on 
Thursday  morning,  which  will  be  the  day  after  to-morrow." 

Toward  evening  Washington  left  Mount  Vernon  on  horse- 
back, accompanied  by  Billy,  and  rode  rapidly  toward  Fred- 
.ericksburg,  where  his  aged  and  invalid  mother  resided.  He 
went  to  embrace  her  and  bid  her  farewell  before  leaving  for 
the  distant  seat  of  government.  She  was  suffering  from  an 
acute  disease,  and  the  weight  of  more  than  fourscore  years 
was  upon  her.  The  interview  between  the  matron  and  her 
illustrious  son  was  full  of  the  most  touching  sublimity.  "  The 
people,  madam,"  said  Washington,  "  have  been  pleased,  with 
the  most  flattering  unanimity,  to  elect  me  to  the  chief  magis- 
tracy of  the  United  States;  but  before  I  can  assume  the  func- 
tions of  that  office,  I  have  come  to  bid  you  an  affectionate 
farewell.  So  soon  as  the  public  business  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  encountered  in  arranging  a  new  government  can  be 
disposed  of,  I  shall  hasten  to  Virginia,  and  — "  Here  she 
interrupted  him,  saying,  "  You  will  see  me  no  more.  My 
great  age,  and  the  disease  that  is  rapidly  approaching  my 
vitals,  warn  me  that  I  shall  not  be  long  in  this  world.  I  trust 
in  God  I  am  somewhat  prepared  for  a  better.  But  go,  George, 
fulfil  the  high  destinies  which  Heaven  appears  to  assign  you  ; 
go,  my  son,  and  may  that  Heaven's  and  your  mother's  blessing 
be  with  you  always." 

The  mother  and  son  embraced  for  the  last  time,  for  before 
he  could  return  to  Virginia,  she  was  laid  in  the  grave. 

Washington  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  on  the  evening  of 
the  15th,  and  found  every  thing  in  preparation  for  the  journey 


TRAVELLING    BOOT-JACK. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  195 

toward  New  York  the  following  morning.  Nothing  essential 
to  the  master's  comfort  and  convenience  wasfcomitted  by  the 
faithful  Billy. 

There  was  a  great  stir  at  Mount  Vemon  on  the  morning  of 
the  16th.  Before  sunrise  a  messenger  had 
come  from  Alexandria,  and  departed ; 
and  that  evening  Washington  wrote  in 
his  diary  :  "  About  ten  o'clock  I  bade 
adieu  to  Mount  Yernon,  to  private  life, 
and  to  domestic  felicity,  and  with  a  mind 
oppressed  with  more  anxious  and  painful 
sensations  than  I  have  words  to  express, 
set  out  for  New  York,  in  company  with  Mr.  Thomson  and 
Colonel  Humphreys,  with  the  best  disposition  to  render  service 
to  my  country  in  obedience  to  its  call,  but  with  less  hope  of 
answering  its  expectations." 

Washington's  neighbors  and  friends  at  Alexandria,  had  in- 
vited him  to  halt  and  partake  of  a  public  dinner  on  the  way. 
This  manifestation  of  friendship  touched  his  heart ;  but  still 
deeper  were  his  tenderest  emotions  awakened,  when,  as  he  and 
his  travelling  companions  ascended  a  little  hill  about  a  mile 
from  his  home,  arid  came  in  view  of  the  lodges  at  his  gate,  he 
saw  a  cavalcade  of  those  friends,  waiting  to  escort  him  to  the 
town.  The  scene  was  one  of  marvellous  interest.  It  was  the 
first  of  a  series  of  ovations  that  awaited  him  on  his  journey. 
The  sun  was  shining  with  all  the  warmth  and  brightness  of 
mid- April  in  Virginia,  the  smiles  of  cultivation  were  on  every 
hand,  and  the  song  of  birds  and  the  perfume  of  early  flowers 
fell  gratefully  upon  the  senses. 

Alas  !  how  changed  is  now  the  aspect  of  that  ancient  entrance 


196 


MOUNT     VEKNON 


ANCIENT    ENTRANCE    TO    MO0NT   VKRNOK,  IN    1858. 

to  Mount  Yernon  !  Stately  trees  are  near  as  in  the  days  of  old, 
but  the  voices  of  labor  are  no  more  heard.  All  is  silence  and 
desolation,  except  when  the  bird  sings,  the  squirrel  chirps,  or 
the  echo  of  the  huntsman's  gun  startles  the  solitary  pedestrian, 
for  the  road,  lilled  or  gullied  by  the  winds  and  rains,  is  scarcely 
passable  for  beast  or  vehicle.  The  old  lodges,  wherein  once 
rang  the  merry  laugh  of  children,  are  utterly  deserted,  and 
fast  falling  into  hopeless  decay ;  and  all  around  them  a  thick 
forest  stands,  where  the  wheat,  the  corn,  and  the  tobacco  once 
bloomed. 

"Washington  was  anxious  to  proceed  to  New  York  with  as 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  197 

little  parade  as  possible,  but  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  could 
not  be  repressed.  His  journey  was  like  a  triumphal  march. 
At  Alexandria  he  partook  of  a  public  dinner,  when  the  mayor 
said,  "The  first  and  best  of  our  citizens  must  leave  us;  our 
aged  must  lose  their  ornament,  our  youth  their  model,  our  agri- 
culture its  improver,  our  commerce  its  friend,  our  infant  acad- 
emy its  protector,*  our  poor  their  benefactor."  ***** 
"  Farewell !"  he  said,  turning  to  Washington,  "  Go,  and  make 
a  grateful  people  happy ;  a  people  who  will  be  doubly  grate- 
ful when  they  contemplate  this  new  sacrifice  for  their  in- 
terests." 

Washington's  feelings  were  deeply  touched.  He  could  say 
but  little.  "  Words  fail  me,"  he  said,  "  unutterable  sensations 
must,  then,  be  left  to  more  expressive  silence,  while  from  an 
aching  heart  I  bid  all  my  affectionate  friends  and  kind  neigh- 
bors— farewell." 

The  president  was  greeted  by  the  Marylanders  at  George- 
town ;  and  at  Baltimore  he  was  entertained  by  a  large  number 
of  citizens  at  a  public  supper.  When  leaving  the  city  the  next 
morning,  at  half-past  five,  he  was  saluted  by  discharges  of 
cannon,  and  attended  by  a  cavalcade  of  gentlemen  who  rode 
seven  miles  with  him.  At  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania,  he 
was  met  early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  by  two  troops  of 
cavalry,  and  a  cavalcade  of  citizens,  at  the  head  of  whom 
were  Governor  Mifflin  and  Judge  Peters;  and  by  them  he  was 
escorted  to  Philadelphia.  Upon  that  frontier,  Washington  left 
his  carriage,  and  mounting  a  superb  white  charger,  he  took 

*  Washington  had  given  funds  for  the  establishment  of  an  academy  at  Alexan- 
dria, and  was  its  patron. 


198  MOUNT    VERNON 

position  in  the  line  of  procession,  with  Secretary  Thomson  on 
one  side,  and  Colonel  Humphreys  on  the  other. 

At  Gray's  Ferry,  on  the  Schuylkill,  they  were  joined  by 
an  immense  number  of  citizens,  led  in  order  by  General  St. 
Glair.  A  triumphal  arch  \vas  erected  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  covered  with  laurel  branches,  and  approached  through 
avenues  of  evergreens.  As  "Washington  passed  under  the  last 
arch,  Angelica  Peale,  daughter  of  the  eminent  artist,  and  a 
child  of  rare  beauty,  who  was  concealed  in,  the  foliage,  let 
down  a  handsomely  ornamented  civic  crown  of  laurel,  which 
rested  upon  the  head  of  the  patriot.  The  incident  caused  a 
tumultuous  shout.  The  procession  moved  on  into  the  city,  its 
volume  increasing  every  moment.  At  least  twenty  thousand 
people  lined  its  passage-way  from  the  Schuylkill  to  the  city ; 
and  at  every  step  the  President  was  greeted  with  shouts  of 
"  Long  live  George  Washington  !"  "  Long  live  the  Father  of 
his  country !" 

The  President  was  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  banquet,  given 
by  the  authorities,  at  the  City  Tavern,  and  the  next  morning  the 
military  were  paraded,  to  form  an  escort  for  him  to  Trenton. 
But  heavy  rain  frustrated  their  designs.  Washington  was  com- 
pelled to  ride  in  his  carriage,  and  he  would  not  allow  an  escort 
of  friends  to  travel  in  the  rain. 

When  the  President  and  suite  approached  Trenton  in  the 
afternoon,  the  clouds  had  disappeared,  and  in  the  warm  sun- 
light, he  crossed  the  Delaware  amid  the  greetings  of  shouts, 
and  cannon-peals,  and  the  feu  dejoie  of  musketry.  His  route 
lay  across  the  same  bridge  over  the  little  stream  which  flows 
through  the  town,  where,  twelve  years  before,  he  had  been 
driven  across  by  Cornwallis,  on  the  evening  previous  to  the 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  199 

battle  at  Princeton.  Upon  that  bridge,  where  he  was  thus 
humiliated,  was  now  a  triumphal  arch,  twenty  feet  in  height, 
supported  by  thirteen  pillars  twined  with  evergreens.  It  wa& 
the  conception  and  work  of  the  women  of  New  Jersey,,  under 
the  general  direction  of  Annis  Stockton ;  and  upon  the  side 
of  his  approach,  over  the  arch,  were  emblazoned  the  words : 

"THE   DEFENDER   OF   THE  MOTHERS  WILL  BE  THE  PROTECTOR  OF 
THE  DAUGHTERS." 

The  arch  was  otherwise  beautifully  decorated,  and  as  Wash- 
ington approached,  many  mothers  with  their  daughters  appeared 
on  each  side  of  it,  all  dressed  in  white.  As  he  passed,  thirteen 
young  girls,  their  heads  wreathed  with  flowers,  and  holding 
baskets  of  flowers  in  their  hands,  while  they  scattered  some  in 
his  way,  sang  the  following  ode,  written  for  the  occasion  by 
Governor  Howell : 


'  Welcome,  mighty  chief,  once  more 
Welcome  to  this  grateful  shore ; 
Now  no  mercenary  foe, 
Aims  again  the  fatal  blow, 
Aims  at  thee  the  fatal  blow. 


"  Virgins  fair,  and  mothers  grave, 
Those  thy  conquering  arm  did  save, 
Build  for  thee  triumphal  bowers. 
Strew,  ye  fair,  his  way  with  flowers ! 
Strew  your  hero's  way  with  flowers.' 


With  joyous  greetings  at  every  step,  Washington  proceeded 
through  New  Jersey,  over  which  he  had  once  fled  with  a  half 


200  MOUNT    VERNON 

starved,  half-naked  army,  before  a  closely  pursuing  foe ;  and 
at  Elizabethtown  Point,  he  was  met,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d, 
by  a  committee  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  several  civil 
and  military  officers.  They  had  prepared  a  magnificent  barge 
for  his  reception,  which  was  manned  by  thirteen  pilots,  in  white 
uniforms,  commanded  by  Commodore  Nicholson.  In  New 
York  harbor,  the  vessels  were  all  decked  with  flags,  in  honor 
of  the  President,  and  gayly  dressed  small  boats  swarmed  upon 
the  waters,  filled  with  gentlemen  and  ladies.  The  Spanish 
ship-of-war  Galveston,  lying  in  the  harbor,  was  the  only  vessel 
of  all  nations,  that  did  not  show  signs  of  respect.  The  neglect 
was  so  marked,  that  many  words  of  censure  were  heard,  when, 
at  a  given  signal,  just  as  the  barge  containing  Washington  was 
abreast  of  her,  she  displayed,  on  every  part  of  her  rigging, 
every  flag  and  signal  known  among  the  nations.  At  the  same 
moment  she  discharged  thirteen  heavy  guns,  and  these  were 
answered  by  the  grand  battery  on  shore.  In  the  midst  of  this 
cannonade,  and  the  shouts  of  the  multitude  on  land  and  water, 
the  President  debarked,  and  was  conducted  by  a  military  and 
civic  procession  to  the  residence  prepared  for  his  use,  at  No. 
10  Cherry-street,  near  Franklin  Square. 

Such  was  the  reception  of  the  first  President  at  the  capital 
of  the  Union.  The  demonstrations  of  joy  and  loyalty  were 
most  sincere  and  universal,  and  yet  the  pen  of  wit  and  the 
pencil  of  caricature  had  been  busy.  As  early  as  the  7th  of 
April,  John  Armstrong  wrote  to  General  Gates,  from  New 
York,  saying: 

"  All  the  world  here  are  busy  in  collecting  flowers  and  sweets 
of  every  kind  to  amuse  and  delight  the  President  in  his  ap- 
proach and  on  his  arrival.  Even  Roger  Sherman  has  set  his 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  201 

head  at  work  to  devise  some  style  of  address  more  novel  and 
dignitied  than  '  Excellency.'  Yet  in  the  midst  of  this  admira- 
tion, there  are  skeptics  who  doubt  its  propriety,  and  wits  who 
amuse  themselves  at  its  extravagance.  The  first  will  grumble, 
and  the  last  will  laugh,  and  the  President  should  be  prepared 
to  meet  the  attacks  of  both  with  firmness  and  good  nature.  A 
caricature  has  already  appeared  called  '  THE  ENTRY,'  full  of 
very  disloyal  and  profane  allusions.  It  represents  the  general 
mounted  on  an  ass,  and  in  the  arms  of  his  man  Billy — Hum- 
phreys leading  the  Jack,  and  chanting  hosannahs  and  birth-day 
odes.  The  following  couplet  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of  the 
devil : 

'  The  glorious  time  has  come  to  pass, 
When  David  shall  conduct  an  ass.'  " 

On  Thursday,  the  30th  of  April,  1789,  "Washington  was  in- 
augurated the  First  President  of  the  United  States.  The  cere- 
monies were  preceded  by  a  national  salute  at  Bowling  Green, 
the  assembling  of  the  people  in  the  churches  to  implore  the 
blessings  of  Heaven  on  the  nation  and  the  President,  and  a 
grand  procession.  The  august  spectacle  was  exhibited  upon  the 
open  gallery  at  the  front  of  the  old  Federal  Hall  at  the  head  of 
Broad-street,  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  assemblage  of  people. 
Washington  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  dark-brown  cloth,  and 
white  silk  stockings,  all  of  American  manufacture,  with  silver 
buckles  upon  his  shoes,  and  his  hair  powdered  and  dressed  in 
the  fashion  of  the  time.  Before  him,  when  he  arose  to  take  the 
oath  of  office,  stood  Chancellor  Livingston,  in  a  suit  of  black 
broadcloth ;  and  near  them  were  Yice-President  Adams,  Mr. 
Otis,  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  who  held  an  open  Bible  upon 


202  MOUNT     VERNON 

a  rich  crimson  cushion,  Generals  Knox,  St.  Clair,  Steuben,  and 
other  officers  of  the  army,  and  George  Clinton,  the  Governor 
of  the  state  of  New  York. 


BIBLE    USED    AT   THE    INACGCRATION    OP    WASHINGTON. 

Washington  laid  his  hand  upon  the  page  containing  the  fif- 
tieth chapter  of  Genesis,  opposite  to  which  were  two  engrav- 
ings, one  representing  The  Blessing  of  Zebulon,  the  other  The 
Prophecy  of  Issachar.  Chancellor  Livingston  then  waved  his 
hand  for  the  multitude  to  be  silent,  and  in  a  clear  voice,  read 
the  prescribed  oath.  The  President  said  "I  swear,"  then  bowed 
his  head  and  kissed  the  sacred  volume,  and  with  closed  eyes  as 
he  resumed  his  erect  position,  he  continued  with  solemn  voice 
and  devotional  attitude,  "  So  help  me  God  !" 

"  It  is  done ! "  exclaimed  the  Chancellor,  and,  with  a  loud 
voice,  shouted,  "  Long  live  George  Washington,  President  of 
the  United  States ! "  The  people  echoed  the  shout  again  and 
again ;  and  as  the  President  moved  toward  the  door,  the  first 
congratulatory  hand  that  grasped  his  was  that  of  his  early  and 
life-long  friend,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  to  whom  in  childhood, 
almost  fifty  years  before,  he  had  written : 

"  I  am  going  to  get  a  whip-top  soon,  and  you  may  see  it  and 
whip  it." 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  203 

How  many  human  whip-tops  had  these  stanch  patriots 
managed  since  they  wrote  those  childish  epistles ! 

That  Bible  is  now  in  the  p(  -session  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  in 
New  York.  Upon  each  cover  is  a  record,  in  gilt  letters,  con- 
cerning the  Lodge ;  and  on  the  inside,  beautifully  written  upon 
parchment,  in  ornamental  style,  by  G.  Thresher,  surmounted 
by  a  portrait  of  Washington,  engraved  by  Leney,  of  New 
York,  is  the  following  statement : 

"  On  this  Sacred  Volume,  on  the  30th  day  of  April,  5789, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  was  administered  to  GEOKGE  WASH- 
INGTON, the  first  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
This  important  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Most  Wor- 
shipful Grand  Master  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  the  Honorable  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
Chancellor  of  the  state. 

"  Fame  stretched  her  wings  and  with  her  trumpet  blew, 
1  Great  Washington  is  near,  what  praise  is  due  ? 
What  title  shall  he  have  ?'     She  paused,  and  said, 
'  Not  one — his  name  alone  strikes  every  title  dead.'  " 

Mrs.  Washington  did  not  journey  to  New  York  with  her 
husband.  Her  reluctance  to  leave  Mount  Yernon  and  the  quiet 
of  domestic  pursuits  was  quite  equal  to  his.  She  loved  her 
home,  her  family,  and  friends,  and  had  no  taste  for  the  excite- 
ments of  fashionable  society  and  public  life.  She  was,  in 
every  respect,  a  model  Virginia  housekeeper.  She  was  a  very 
early  riser,  leaving  her  pillow  at  dawn  at  every  season  of  the 
year,  and  engaging  at  once  in  the  active  duties  of  her  house- 
hold. Yet  these  duties  never  kept  her  from  daily  communion 


204  MOUNT    VERNON 

with  God,  in  the  solitude  of  her  closet.  After  breakfast  she 
invariably  retired  to  her  chamber,  where  she  remained  an 
hour  reading  the  Scriptures  and  engaged  in  thanksgiving  and 
prayer.  For  more  than  half  a  century  she  practised  such 
devotions  in  secret ;  and  visitors  often  remarked  that  when  she 
appeared  after  the  hour  of  spiritual  exercises,  her  countenance 
beamed  with  ineffable  sweetness. 

All  day  long  that  careful,  bustling,  industrious  little  house- 
wife kept  her  hands  in  motion.  "Let  us  repair  to  the  old 
lady's  room,"  wrote  the  wife  of  Colonel  Edward  Carrington  to 
her  sister,  a  short  time  before  Washington's  death,  while  on  a 
visit  to  Mount  Vernon — "Let  us  repair  to  the  old  lady's 
room,  which  is  precisely  in  the  style  of  our  good  old  aunt's — 
that  is  to  say,  nicely  fixed  for  all  sorts  of  work.  On  one  side 
sits  the  chambermaid,  with  her  knitting ;  on  the  other  a  little 
colored  pet,  learning  to  sew.  An  old  decent  woman  is  there, 
with  her  table  and  shears,  cutting  out  the  negroes'  winter 
clothes,  while  the  good  old  lady  directs  them  all,  incessantly 
knitting  herself.  She  points  out  to  me  several  pair  of  nice 
colored  stockings  and  gloves  she  had  just  finished,  and 
presents  me  with  a  pair,  half  done,  which  she  begs  I  will  finish 
and  wear  for  her  sake.  It  is  wonderful,  after  a  life  spent  as 
these  good  people  have  necessarily  spent  theirs,  to  see  them, 
in  retirement,  assume  those  domestic  habits  that  prevail  in  our 
country." 

Mrs.  "Washington  always  spoke  of  the  time  when  she  was  in 
public  life,  as  wife  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  as 
her  "  lost  days."  She  was  compelled  to  be  governed  by  the 
etiquette  prescribed  for  her,  and  she  was  very  restive  under  it. 
To  the  wife  of  George  A.  Washington,  the  General's  nephew, 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.         *  205 

who  had  •  married  her  niece,  and  who  was  left  in  charge  of 
domestic  affairs  at  Mount  Vernon  when  her  husband  assumed 
the  presidency,  she  wrote  from  New  York,  saying : 

"  Mrs.  Sims  will  give  you  a  better  account  of  the  fashions 
than  I  can.  I  live  a  very  dull  life  here,  and  know  nothing 
that  passes  in  the  town.  I  never  go  to  any  public  place — 
indeed  I  think  I  am  more  like  a  state  prisoner  than  any  thing 
else.  There  are  certain  bounds  set  for  me  which  I  must  not 
depart  from ;  and,  as  I  caim'ot  do  as  I  like,  I  am  obstinate  and 
stay  at  home  a  great  deal." 

At  that  time  the  etiquette  of  the  President's  household  was 
not 'fully  determined  on.  In  his  diary,  on  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber, Washington  wrote :  "  Eeceived  an  invitation  to  attend 
the  funeral  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt  (the  wife  of  a  senator  of  this 
state  [New  York],  but  declined  complying  with  it — first, 
because  the  propriety  of  accepting  any  invitation  of  this  sort 
appeared  very  questionable — and  secondly  (though  to  do  it  in 
this  instance  might  not  be  improper),  because  it  might  be 
difficult  to  discriminate  in  cases  which  might  thereafter 
happen." 

The  establishment  of  precedents  and  the  arrangements  of 
etiquette  were  of  more  importance  than  might  at  first  thought 
appear.  The  plan  of  having  certain  days  and  hours  when  the 
President  would  receive  calls,  was  a  measure  of  absolute 
necessity,  in  order  that  the  chief  magistrate  might  have  the 
control  of  his  time  ;  and  yet  it  offended  many  who  were  of  the 
extremely  democratic  school. 

The  precedents  of  monarchy  might  not  be  followed  in  a 
simple  republic,  and  yet  a  certain  dignity  was  to  be  preserved. 
The  arrangement  of  official  ceremonies,  connected  with  the 


206  MOUNT    VEEN  ON 

President  personally,  was  finally  left  chiefly  to  Colonel  Hum- 
phreys, who  had  been  abroad,  and  was  a  judicious  observer  of 
the  phases  of  society  under  every  aspect.  The  customs  which 
were  established  during  Washington's  administration  concern- 
ing the  levees — the  President  not  returning  private  visits,  et 
cetera — have  ever  since  prevailed ;  and  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  republic  is  never  seen  in  the  position  of  a  private  citizen. 

In  the  letter  just  quoted,  Mrs.  Washington  wrote :  "  Dear 
Fanny,  I  have,  by  Mrs.  Sims,  sent  you  a  watch.  It  is  one  of 
the  cargo  that  I  have  so  long  mentioned  to  you  that  was 
expected.  I  hope  it  is  such  a  one  as  will  please  you.  It  is  of 
the  newest  fashion,  if  that  has  any  influence  on  your  taste. 
The  chain  is  Mr.  Lear's  choosingj  and  such  as  Mrs.  Adams, 
the  Vice-President's  lady,  and  those  in  polite  circles  use.  It 
will  last  as  long  as  the  fashion,  and  by  that  time  you  can  get 
another  of  a  fashionable  kind." 

The  watch  mentioned  in  this  letter  was  a  flat  gold  one, 
•  manufactured  by  Lepine,  u  watchmaker  to  the  king."  Wash- 
ington purchased  one  for  his  own  use  at  the  same  time,  it 
being  much  more  agreeable  in  the  pocket  than  the  old-fash- 
ioned bulky  English  watch.  That  watch,  with  the  key  and 
seals,  became  the  property  of  Bushrod  Washington,  the  Gen- 
eral's nephew,  who  inherited  Mount  Yernon,  and  was  by  him, 
in  the  following  clause  in  his  will,  given  to  a  friend : 

"  My  gold  watch  I  give  to  my  friend  Robert  Adams,  of 
Philadelphia,  knowing  that  he  will  approbate  the  gift,  not  for 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  article,  but  because  it  was  worn  by 
the  Father  of  our  Country,  and  afterward  by  his  friend.  After 
the  death  of  the  said  Robert  Adams,  I  give  the  said  watch  to 
his  son  Bushrod." 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


207 


On  the  23d  of  March,  1830,  the  watch  was  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Adams  by  John  A.  Washington,  who  inherited  Mount  Vernoii 
from  his  uncle  Bushrod.  It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Bush- 
rod  Washington  Adams,  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  is  preserved  with  the 
greatest  care  as  a  precious  memento 
of  the  beloved  patriot.  Our  en- 
graving shows  the  watch,  ribbon, 
seal,  and  key,  on  a  scale  one-third  less 
than  the  objects  themselves.  The 
picture  of  the  impression  of  the  seal, 
exhibiting  the  Washington  arms  and 
motto,  is  the  size  of  the  original. 
The  stones  of  the  seal  and  key  are 
cornelian ;  the  former  white  and  the 
latter  red,  and  polygonal  in  -form. 
The  dial  is  of  white  enamel;  the 
seconds  figures  carmine  red.  The 
case  is  standard  gold,  the  alloy  cop- 
per, giving  it  the  red  appearance  of 
jeweller's  gold. 


WASHINGTON  8    LKPINH     WATCH,    SKAL, 
AND    KEY. 


In  the  letter  from  which  we  have 
just  quoted,  Mrs.  Washington  exhibits  the  care  and  frugality 
which    she    always    practised    at    home.       To 
Fanny  she  wrote : 

"  I  send  to  dear  W  iria  a  piece  of  chene  to 
make  her  a  frock,  and  a  piece  of  muslin  which 
I  hope  is  long  enough  for  an  apron  for  you. 
In  exchange  for  it,  I  beg  you  will  give  me  a 
worked  muslin  apron  you  have,  like  my  gown 


WASHINGTON  8   LAST 
WATCH-SEAL. 


208  MOUNT     VERNON 

that  I  made  just  before  I  left  home,  of  worked  muslin,  as  1 
wish  to  make  a  petticoat  to  my  gown  of  the  two  aprons." 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  writer  was  in  the  midst 
of  the  gay  life  of  New  York,  then  the  federal  metropolis ;  the 
wife  of  the  presiding  chief  magistrate  of  the  republic,  receiving 
visits  from  the  great  of  many  lands  and  the  most  notable  of 
her  own,  and  having  her  own  arid  her  husband's  large  fortune 
at  command.  Some  may  call  her  practice  the  development  of 
a  parsimonious  spirit.  It  was  not  so.  Hers  was  the  "  liberal 
hand"  that  devised  "liberal  things"  for  the  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate. It  was  only  an  exhibition  of  economy  in  the  use  of 
articles  and  the  management  of  affairs,  which  American  house- 
wives would  do  well  to  imitate. 

Mrs.  Washington  left  Mount  Vernon  for  New  York  on  the 
19th  of  May,  in  her  chaise,  accompanied  by  her  grandchildren, 
Eleanor  Parke  and  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  and  a 
small  escort  on  horseback.  She  was  clothed  tidily  in  manufac- 
tures of  our  own  country  entirely.  She  lodged  at  Baltimore 
the  first  night  of  her  journey.  When  she  approached  that  city 
she  was  met  by  a  cavalcade  of  gentlemen  and  escorted  into  the 
town.  In  the  evening  fireworks  were  displayed  in  her  honor ; 
and  after  supper  she  was  serenaded  by  a  band  of  musicians, 
composed  of  some  gentlemen  of  the  city. 

When  she  approached  Philadelphia  she  was  met,  ten  miles 
from  the  town,  by  the  president  of  the  state  and  the  speaker 
of  the  assembly,  accompanied  by  two  troops  of  dragoons  and  a 
large  cavalcade  of  citizens.  Some  miles  from  the  city  she  was 
met  by  a  brilliant  company  of  women,  in  carriages.  They 
attended  her  to  Gray's  Ferry,  on  the  Schuylkill,  where  they  all 
partook  of  a  collation ;  and  from  that  place  to  the  city,  Mrs. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  209 

Robert  Morris  occupied  a  seat  by  the  side  of  the  President's 
wife,  resigning  her  own  carriage  to  Master  Custis,  then  a  boy 
a  little  more  than  eight  years  of  age.  The  procession  entered 
the  city  at  two  o'clock,  when  the  beloved  lady  was  greeted  by 
thirteen  discharges  of  cannon,  and  the  shouts  and  cheers  of  a 
great  multitude.  While  in  the  city  she  was  the  guest  of  Mrs. 
Morris. 

On  Monday  morning,  the  26th  of  May,  Mrs.  "Washington 
left  Philadelphia  for  New  York,  accompanied  by  her  hostess. 
The  military  paraded  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  escort  as 
far  as  Trenton,  but,  as  on  the  morning  when  her  husband  left 
the  same  city  a  month  before,  rain  prevented  the  performance. 
After  proceeding  a  short  distance  they  took  a  respectful  leave 
of  her,  and  returned.  She  slept  at  Trenton  that  night,  and  on 
Tuesday  night  she  and  her  family  were  guests  of  Governor 
Livingston,  at  Elizabethtown. 

On  Wednesday  morning  Washington  proceeded,  in  his 
splendid  reception-barge,  to  Elizabethtown  Point  to  meet  his 
family,  accompanied  by  Robert  Morris  and  several  other  dis- 
tinguished men.  The  barge  was  manned  as  on  the  occasion  of 
the  reception  of  the  President.  When  it  approached  White- 
hall, on  its  return,  crowds  of  citizens  thronged  the  wharves ; 
and  from  the  grand  battery  the  voices  of  thirteen  cannon,  in 
quick  succession,  uttered  a  greeting. 

On  the  day  after  Mrs.  Washington's  arrival,  the  President 
entertained  a  few  guests  at  a  family  dinner.  These  consisted  of 
Vice-President  Adams,  Governor  Clinton,  the  Count  du  Mous- 
tier  (French  minister),  Don  Diego  Gardoqui  (Spanish  minister), 
Mr.  Jay,  General  St.  Clair,  Senators  Langdon,  Wingate,  Izard, 
and  Few,  and  Mr.  Muhlenburg,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
u 


210  MOUNT    VERNON 

resentatives.  The  dinner  was  plain  ;  and  Washington,  standing 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  asked  a  blessing.  After  the  dessert, 
a  single  glass  of  wine  was  offered  to  each  of  the  guests.  The 
President  then  arose,  and  led  the  way  to  the  drawing-room, 
and  the  company  departed  without  ceremony. 

On  the  following  day,  Mrs.  Washington  held  her  first  draw- 
ing-room. It  was  attended  by  a  very  numerous  company,  of 
the  highest  respectability.  Unlike  the  levees  at  the  Presiden- 
tial mansion  in  our  time,  they  were  attended  only  by  persons 
connected  with  the  government  and  their  families,  the  foreign 
ministers  and  their  families,  and  others  who  held  good  positions 
in  fashionable  and  refined  society,  either  on  account  of  their  own 
merits  or  their  social  relations.  All  were  expected  to  be  in  full 
dress,  on  these  occasions.  Mrs.  Washington,  though  averse 
to  all  ostentatious  show  and  parade,  fully  appreciated  the  dig- 
nity of  her  station,  and  was  careful  to  exact  those  courtesies  to 
which  she  was  entitled. 

She  was  also  careful  not  to  allow  public  ceremonies  to  inter- 
fere with  some  of  the  life-long  habits  of  herself  and  husband. 
He  usually  stood  by  her  side,  for  awhile,  on  these  occasions, 
and  received  the  visitors  as  they  were  presented.  But  he  did 
not  consider  himself  visited.  He  was  a  private  gentleman ; 
and  when  the  visitors  were  assembled,  he  moved  among  the 
company,  conversing  with  one  and  another,  with  the  fa- 
miliarity that  marked  his  manner  in  his  own  drawing-room 
at  Mount  Vernon.  On  these  occasions  he  usually  wore  a 
brown  cloth  coat,  with  bright  buttons,  and  had  neither  hat  nor 
sword. 

The  reception  was  never  allowed  to  last  beyond  the  ap- 
pointed hour,  which  was  from  eight  to  nine.  When  the  clock 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


211 


in  the  hall  was  striking  the  latter  hour,  Mrs.  Washington  would 
say  to  those  present,  with  a  most  complacent  smile,  "  The  Gen- 
eral always  retires  at  nine,  and  I  usually  precede 
him."  In  a  few  minutes  the  drawing-room  would 
be  closed,  the  lights  extinguished,  and  the  presi- 
dential mansion  would  be  as  dark  and  quiet 
before  ten  o'clock,  as  the  house  of  any  private 
citizen. 

The  President  held  his  levees  or  receptions,  on 
Tuesdays,  from  three  to  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  these  were  very  numerously  attended, 
but  by  gentlemen  only.  On  these  occasions, 
after  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  he  was  always  dressed  in  a  suit  of 
black  velvet,  black  silk  stockings,  silver  knee  and 
shoe  buckles,  and  having  his  hair  powdered,  and 
tied  in  a  black  silk  bag  or  queue  behind.  He 
wore  yellow  gloves,  and  held  a  cocked  hat  with 
a  cockade  upon  it,  the  edges  adorned  with  a  black 
feather  about  an  inch  deep.  He  also  wore  an 
elegant  dress-sword  which  he  bore  with  the  utmost 
grace.  This  sword  had  a  finely-wrought  and 
polished  steel  hilt,  which  appeared  at  the  left  hip. 
The  scabbard  was  white  polished  leather.  The 
coat  was  worn  over  the  sword,  the  point  of  the 
scabbard  only  appearing  below  the  skirt. 

At  his  levees  in  New  York  the  President  also 
wore  a  dress-sword,  but  less  elegant  than  the  one     WASHINGTON'S 
worn  in  Philadelphia,  which  an  eye-witness  has 
described  to  me.     The  sword  used  in  New  York  is  preserved 


212  MOUNT    VERNON 

at  Mount  Vernon,  it  having  fallen  to  the  lot  of  Bushrod  Wash- 
ington, in  the  distribution  of  several  similar  weapons,  disposed 
of  by  the  following  clause  in  Washington's  will : 

"  To  each  of  my  nephews,  William  Augustine  Washington, 
George  Lewis,  George  Steptoe  Washington,  Bushrod  Wash- 
ington, and  Samuel  Washington,  I  give  one  of  the  swords  or 
couteaux,  of  which  I  may  die  possessed ;  and  they  are  to  choose 
in  the  order  they  are  named.  These  swords  are  accompanied 
with  an  injunction  not  to  unsheath  them  for  the  purpose  of 
shedding  blood,  except  it  be  for  self-defence,  or  in  defence  of 
their  country  and  its  rights;  and  in  the  latter  case  to  keep 
them  unsheathed,  and  prefer  falling  with  them  in  their  hands, 
to  the  relinquishment  thereof." 

This  sword  appears  in  Stuart's  full-length  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington, painted  for  the  Marquis  of  Landsdowne.  It  has  a  fine 
silver-gilt  hilt,  and  black  leather  scabbard,  silver-gilt  mounted. 
On  one  side  of  the  blade  are  the  words  RECTE  FACE  ICE — "Do 
what  is  right ;"  on  the  other,  NEMINE  TIMEAS — "  Fear  no 
man." 

At  his  receptions  in  Philadelphia  the  President  always 
stood,  says  an  eye-witness,  "  in  front  of  the  fireplace,  with  his 
face  toward  the  door  of  entrance.  The  visitor  was  conducted 
to  him,  and  he  required  to  have  the  name  so  distinctly  pro- 
nounced that  he  could  hear  it.  He  had  the  very  uncommon 
faculty  of  associating  a  man's  name  and  personal  appearance 
so  durably  in  his  memory  as  to  be  able  to  call  any  one  by 
name  who  made  him  a  second  visit.  He  received  his  visitor 
with  a  dignified  bow,  while  his  hands  were  so  disposed  as  to 
indicate  that  the  salutation  was  not  to  be  accompanied  with 
shaking  hands.  This  ceremony  never  occurred  in  these  visits, 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  21-'i 

even  with  the  most  intimate  friends,  that  no  distinction  might 
be  made. 

"  As  visitors  came  in,  they  formed  a  circle  around  the  room. 
At  a  quarter  past  three  the  door  was  closed,  and  the  circle 
was  formed  for  that  day.  He  then  began  on  the  right,  and 
spoke  to  each  visitor,  calling  him  by  name,  and  exchanging  a 
few  words  with  him.  When  he  had  completed  his  circuit,  he 
resumed  his  first  position,  and  the  visitors  approached  him  in 
succession,  bowed,  and  retired.  By  four  o'clock  this  ceremony 
was  over." 

In  New  York  the  President  occupied  the  mansion  at  No.  10 
Cherry -street,  for  about  nine  months,  and  then  moved  to  a  more 
spacious  house  on  the  west  side  of  Broadwray,  between  Trinity 
Church  and  the  Bowling  Green,  where  the  French  minister,  M. 
de  Moustier,  had  resided.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  house,  with 
a  garden  extending  to  the  shore  of  the  Hudson.  An  English 
gentleman,  who  visited  the  President  at  that  time,  described 
the  drawing-room  as  "lofty  and  spacious,  but,"  he  added,  "the 
furniture  was  not  beyond  that  found  in  the  dwellings  of 
opulent  Americans  in  general,  and  might  be  called  plain  for 
its  situation.  The  upper  end  of  the  room  had  glass  doors, 
which  opened  upon  a  balcony,  commanding  an  extensive  view 
of  the  Hudson  River,  and  the  Jersey  shore  opposite." 

Some  of  the  furniture  here  alluded  to,  was  purchased  of  the 
French  minister.  Under  date  of  February  1,  1790,  "Washing- 
ton recorded  in  his  Diary — "  Agreed,  on  Saturday  last  to  take 
Mr.  McComb's  house,  lately  occupied  by  the  Minister  of  France, 
for  one  year  from  and  after  the  1st  day  of  May  next ;  and 
would  go  into  it  immediately,  if  Mr.  Otto,  the  present  posses- 
sor, could  be  accommodated.  This  day  I  sent  my  Secretary  to 


MOUNT     VERNON 

examine  the  rooms  to  see  how  my  furniture  would  be  adapt- 
ed to  the  respective  apartments." 

Two  days  afterward  he  recorded : 

"Visited  the  apartments  in  the  house  of  Mr.  McCombs — 
made  a  disposition  of  the  rooms — fixed  on  furniture  of  the 
Minister's  (which  was  to  be  sold,  and  was  wrell  adapted  to  par- 
ticular public  rooms) — and  directed  additional  stables  to  be 
built." 

One  piece  of  the  French  minister's  furniture  "  fixed  upon " 
and  purchased  at  that  time,  was  a  writing-desk,  or  secretary, 
and  also  an  easy  chair  that  was  used  writh  it.  These  Washing- 
ton took  with  him  to  Philadelphia,  and  afterward  to  Mount 
Vernon ;  and  in  his  will  they  were  disposed  of  as  follows : 

"  To  my  companion  in  arms  and  old  and  intimate  friend, 
Dr.  Craik,  I  give  my  bureau  (or  as  cabinet-makers  call  it 
tambour  secretary),  and  the  circular  chair,  an  appendage  of 
my  study." 

That  secretary  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  grandson  of 
Dr.  Craik,  the  Reverend  James  Craik,  of  Louisville,  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  engraving  is  from  a  pencil-sketch  by  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Casseday. 

The  seat  of  the  federal  government  was  removed  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia  in  1790,  by  act  of  Congress.  That  body 
adjourned  on  the  12th  of  August,  and  Washington  imme- 
diately thereafter  made  a  voyage  to  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Close  application  to  public 
business  had  caused  a  nervous  prostration,  that  threatened  con- 
sequences almost  as  serious  as  those  with  which  he  had  been 
menaced  by  a  malignant  carbuncle  the  year  before.  He  had 
also  suffered  severely  from  a  violent  inflammation  of  the  lungs. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


215 


WASUINUION  S    SKCHKTARY    AND    CIRCI'I.AR    CHAIR. 


The  sea  voyage  was  beneficial,  and  on  the  30th  of  August 
the  President  and  his  family  set  out  for  Mount  Yernon,  there 
to  spend  the  few  months  before  the  next  meeting  of  Con- 
gress at  Philadelphia.  They  left  New  York  for  Elizabethtown 
in  the  splendid  barge  in  which  they  had  arrived,  amid  the 
thunders  of  cannon  and  the  huzzas  of  a  great  multitude  of 
people.  Washington  never  saw  New  York  again.  Having 
no  further  use  for  his  barge,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Tvandall,  the 


216  MOUNT    VEKNON 

chairman  of  the  committee  through  whom  he  had  received  it, 


"As  I  am  at  this  moment  about  commencing  my  journey  to 
Virginia,  and  consequently  will  have  no  farther  occasion  for 
the  use  of  the  barge,  I  must  now  desire  that  you  will  return  it, 
in  my  name,  and  with  my  best  thanks,  to  the  original  proprie- 
tors; at  the  same  time  I  shall  be  much  obliged  if  you  will 
have  the  goodness  to  add,  on  my  part,  that  in  accepting  their 
beautiful  present,  I  considered  it  as  a  pledge  of  that  real 
urbanity  which,  I  am  happy  in  declaring,  I  have  experienced 
on  every  occasion  during  my  residence  among  them  ;  that  I 
ardently  wish  every  species  of  prosperity  may  be  the  constant 
portion  of  the  respectable  citizens  of  New  York  ;  and  that  I 
shall  always  retain  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  polite  atten- 
tions' of  the  citizens  in  general,  and  of  those  in  particular  to 
whom  the  contents  of  this  note  are  addressed." 

A  few  days  after  this,  Washington  was  again  beneath  the 
roof  he  loved  so  well,  at  Mount  Vernon,  but  the  coveted 
enjoyment  of  his  home  was  lessened  by  the  weight  of  public 
cares  that  pressed  upon  him.  The  old  feeling  of  deep  respon- 
sibility, which  it  was  so  difficult  for  him  to  lay  aside  at  the 
close  of  his  military  career,  returned  ;  and  in  his  library,  where 
he  loved  to  devote  his  morning  hours  to  reading  and  the 
labors  of  the  pen  in  recording  facts  connected  with  his  pursuits 
as  a  farmer,  he  might  be  seen  with  state  papers,  maps,  plans, 
and  every  thing  that  indicated  the  weighty  cares  of  a  public 
man. 

The  Congress  then  just  closed  had  been  a  most  important 
one,  and  the  labors  of  every  conscientious  officer  and  employee 
of  the  government  had  been  very  severe.  Upon  them  had 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  217 

been  laid  the  responsible  and  momentous  task  of  putting  in 
motion  the  machinery  of  a  new  government,  and  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  then  present  and  future  policy  of  that  gov- 
ernment, domestic  and  foreign.  As  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
republic,  the  chief  officer  of  the  government,  the  chief  archi- 
tect of  the  new  superstructure  in  progress,  Washington  felt  the 
solemnity  of  his  position,  and  the  importance  of  the  great 
trusts  which  the  people  had  placed  in  his  hands;  and  the 
sense  of  all  this  denied  him  needful  repose,  even  while  sitting 
within  the  quietude  of  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 

Just  before  Congress  adjourned,  Washington  received  a 
curious  present,  which  he  carried  with  him  to  Mount  Vernon. 
It  was  the  key  of  the  Bastile,  that  old  state  prison  in  Paris, 
which  had  become  a  strong  arm  of  despotism.  It  was  first  a 
royal  castle,  completed  by  Chnrles  V.  of  France,  in  1383,  for 
the  defence  of  Paris  against  the  English,  but  in  the  lapse  of 
time  it  had  become  a  fortress,  devoted  to  the  selfish  purposes 
of  tyranny.  It  was  hated  by  the  people. 

During  the  preceding  year,  the  slumbering  volcano  of  revo- 
lution burning  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  upon  which  for  a  long 
time,  royalty  and  the  privileged  classes  in  France  had  been 
reposing,  showed  frequent  signs  of  inquietude,  which  proph- 
esied of  violent  eruption.  The  abuses  of  the  government,  under 
the  administration  of  the  ministers  of  a  well-meaning  but  weak 
monarch,  had  become  unendurable,  and  the  best  friends  of 
France  had  spoken  out  boldly  against  them. 

Among  these  the  boldest  was  Lafayette.  He  had  made  a 
formal  demand  for  a  National  Assembly.  "What!"  said  the 
Count  d'Artois  to  him  on  one  occasion,  "  Do  you  make  a  mo- 
tion for  the  States  General?"  "Yes,  and  even  more  than  that," 


218  MOUNT    VERNON 

Lafayette  replied  ;  and  that  more  was  nothing  less  than  a  char- 
ter from  the  king,  by  which  the  public  and  individual  liberty 
should  be  acknowledged  and  guarantied  by  the  future  States 
General. 

That  body  opened  their  session  at  Versailles  in  May,  and 
soon  constituted  themselves  a  National  Assembly.  Their  hall 
was  closed  by  order  of  the  king,  on  the  20th,  and  from  that 
time  until  early  in  July,  Paris  was  dreadfully  agitated.  Every 
one  felt  that  a  terrible  storm  was  ready  to  burst.  The  king, 
surrounded  by  bad  advisers,  attempted  to  avert  it  by  means 
which  precipitated  it.  He  placed  a  cordon  of  troops  around 
Paris,  to  overawe  the  opposers  of  government.  The  Assembly, 
supported  by  the  people,  organized  a  militia  within  the  city. 
The  number  required  was  forty-eight  thousand.  In  two  days, 
two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  citizens  enrolled  them- 
selves. A  state  mayor  was  appointed  by  the  town  assem- 

• 
bly,  and  the  Marquis  La  Salle  was  named  commander-in-chief. 

The  armed  people  intercepted  the  court  dispatches  by  arrest- 
ing the  royal  couriers ;  and  an  immense  assemblage  went  to 
the  Hospital  of  the  Invalids,  on  the  10th  of  July,  and  demand- 
ed of  the  governor  to  deliver  up  to  them  all  the  arms  depos- 
ited there.  He  refused,  and  they  seized  thirty  thousand  mus- 
kets and  twenty  pieces  of  cannon.  They  also  seized  all  the 
arms  in  the  shops  of  the  armorers,  and  those  of  the  Garde- 
Meuble.  The  tumult  throughout  the  city  became  terrible  in 
strength  and  intensity,  and  the  National  Assembly  sent  a  dep- 
utation to  the  king  to  inform  him  of  the  disturbances,  and  to 
point  to  the  cause — the  surrounding  troops.  The  king,  under 
advice,  refused  to  make  a  change,  haughtily  declaring  that  he 
alone  had  the  right  to  judge  of  the  necessity  of  public  measures. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  219 

On  the  night  of  the  13th,  Paris  was  comparatively  quiet. 
It  was  the  lull  before  the  bursting  of  the  storm.  The  dismissal 
of  M.  Necker  from  the  post  of  minister  of  finance,  had  greatly 
exasperated  the  inhabitants.  The  streets  were  barricaded. 
The  people  formed  themselves  into  a  National  Guard,  and 
chose  Lafayette  as  their  commander.  Each  assumed  some 
sort  of  military  dress,  and  laid  hold  of  gun,  sabre,  scythe,  or 
whatever  weapon  first  fell  in  their  way.  Multitudes  of  men 
of  the  same  opinion,  embraced  each  other  in  the  streets  as 
brothers ;  and  in  an  instant,  almost,  a  National  Guard  was 
formed,  consisting  of  a  hundred  thousand  determined  men. 

It  was  believed  that  the  Bastile  contained  a  large  quantity 
of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  thither  the  people  repaired  on 
the  morning  of  the  14th.  A  parley  ensued,  the  gates  were 
opened,  and  about  forty  citizens,  leaders  of  the  people,  were 
permitted  to  go  in.  The  bridges  were  then  drawn,  and  a 
firing  was  heard  within  ! 

That  moment  marks  the  opening  of  the  terrible  drama  of 
the  French  revolution.  The  fury  of  the  populace  was  excited 
beyond  all  control.  That  firing  fell  upon  their  ears  as  the 
death-knell  of  their  friends  who  had  gone  within  the  walls  of 
the  hated  prison.  With  demoniac  yells  they  dragged  heavy 
cannon  before  the  gates,  in  the  face  of  a  storm  of  grape-shot 
from  the  fortress.  They  quailed  not  before  the  storm,  but 
attacked  the  stronghold  of  Despotism  with  tiger-like  ferocity. 
The  alarmed  governor,  Delaunay,  soon  displayed  a  white  flag, 
and  the  firing  ceased. 

A  second  deputation  was  now  sent  to  the  governor.  They 
shared  the  fate  of  the  former.  With  redoubled  fury  the 
people  again  assailed  the  walls,  made  a  breach,  rushed  in, 


220  M  0  U  X  T     V  E  R  N  0  N 

seized  the  governor  and  other  officers,  and  conducting  them  in 
triumph  to  the  Place  de  Grace,  first  cut  off  their  hands,  and 
then  their  heads.  The  latter  were  then  paraded  upon  pikes 
through  the  streets,  and  the  great  iron  key  of  the  Bastile  was 
carried  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  or  town  hall.  The  National 
Assembly  decreed  its  demolition.  Seven  prisoners  who  had 
been  confined  in  its  dungeons  since  the  reign  of  Louis  the 
Fifteenth  (three  of  whom  had  lost  their  reason)  were  set  at 
liberty,  and  the  old  fortress  was  demolished  soon  afterward. 

Upon  its  site  is  now  the  Place  de  Bastile,  within  which 
stands  the  Column  of  July,  erected  by  order  of  Louis  Philippe, 
in  commemoration  of  the  events  of  the  memorable  Three  Days 
of  July,  1830,  which  placed  him  upon  the  throne  of  France. 

The  National  Assembly,  by  unanimous  vote,  now  elected 
Lafayette  commander-in- chief  of  the  National  Guard  of  all 
France,  a  corps  of  more  than  four  millions  of  armed  citizens. 
lie  accepted  the  appointment,  but,  imitating  the  example  of 
Washington,  he  refused  all  remuneration  for  his  services,  not- 
withstanding a  salary  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year  was 
voted.  The  king  approved  of  his  appointment,  and  the  mon- 
arch, being  deserted  by  his  bad  advisers,  threw  himself  upon 
the  National  Assembly.  "He  has  hitherto  been  deceived," 
Lafayette  proclaimed  to  the  people,  "  but  he  now  sees  the 
merit  and  justice  of  the  popular  cause."  The  people  shouted 
"  Vive  le  roi !  "  and  for  a  moment  the  revolution  seemed  to  be 
at  an  end. 

The  key  of  the  Bastile  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Lafayette, 
and  in  March  following  he  sent  it  to  Thomas  Paine,  then  in 
London,  to  be  forwarded  as  a  present  to  Washington,  together 
with  a  neat  drawing,  in  pencil,  representing  the  destruction  of 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


221 


222  MOUNT     VERNON 

the  prison.  A  copy  of  that  sketch  is  given  on  page  221. 
With  these  Lafayette  enclosed  a  letter  to  Washington,  dated 
the  17th  of  March,  in  which  he  gave  him  a  general  picture  of 
affairs  in  France,  and  added : 

"After  I  have  confessed  all  this,  I  will  tell  you,  with  the  same 
candor,  that  we  have  made  an  admirable  and  almost  incredible 
destruction  of  all  abuses  and  prejudices;  that  every  thing  not 
directly  useful  to  or  coming  from  the  people  has  been  levelled ; 
that  in  the  topographical,  moral,  and  political  situation  of 
France,  we  have  made  more  changes  in  ten  months  than  the 
most  sanguine  patriots  could  have  imagined ;  that  our  internal 
troubles  and  anarchy  are  much  exaggerated ;  and  that,  upon 
the  whole,  this  revolution,  in  which  nothing  will  be  wranting 
but  energy  of  government,  as  it  was  in  America,  will  im- 
plant liberty  and  make  it  flourish  throughout  the  world ; 
while  we  must  wait  for  a  convention,  in  a  few  years,  to  mend 
some  defects,  which  are  not  now  perceived  by  men  just  es- 
caped from  aristocracy  and  despotism." 

He  then  added : 

"Give  me  leave,  my  dear  general,  to  present  you  with  a 
picture  of  the  Bastile,  just  as  it  looked  a  few  days  after  I 
ordered  its  demolition,  with  the  main  key  of  the  fortress  of 
despotism.  It  is  a  tribute  which  I  owe  as  a  son  to  my  adopted 
father — as  an  aide-de-camp  to  my  general — as  a  missionary  of 
liberty  to  its  patriarch." 

After  considerable  delay,  Paine  forwarded  the  kej'  and 
drawing  to  Washington,  with  a  letter,  in  which  he  said  : 

"  I  feel  myself  happy  in  being  the  person  through  whom  the 
Marquis  has  conveyed  this  early  trophy  of  the  spoils  of  despot- 
ism, and  the  first  ripe  fruits  of  American  principles  trans- 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


223 


planted  into  Europe,  to  his  great  master  and  patron.     When  he 

mentioned  to  me  the  present  he  intended  for  you,  my  heart 

leaped  with  joy.     It  is  something  so  truly  in  character,  that 

no  remarks  can  illustrate  it,  and  is  more 

happily   expressive  of  his   remembrance 

of  his  American  friends  than  any  letters 

can    convey.      That    the    principles    of 

America  opened  the  Bastile  is  not  to  be 

doubted,  and  therefore  the  key  comes  to 

the  right  place. 

"I  should  rejoice  to  be  the  direct 
bearer  of  the  marquis's  present  to  your 
excellency,  but  I  doubt  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  see  my  much-loved  America  till 
next  spring.  I  shall  therefore  send  it 
by  some  American  vessel  to  New  York. 
I  have  permitted  no  drawing  to  be  taken  here,  though  it  has 
been  often  requested,  as  I  think  there  is  a  propriety  that  it 
should  first  be  presented.  But  Mr.  West  wishes  Mr.  Trumbull 
to  make  a  painting  of  the  presentation  of  the  key  to  you." 
On  the  llth  of  August  Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette  : 
"  I  have  received  your  affectionate  letter  of  the  17th  of 
March  by  one  conveyance,  and  the  token  of  the  victory 
gained  by  liberty  over  despotism  by  another,  for  both  which 
testimonials  of  your  friendship  and  regard  I  pray  you  to 
accept  my  sincerest  thanks.  In  this  great  subject  of  triumph 
for  the  New  World,  and  for  humanity  in  general,  it  will  never 
be  forgotten  how  conspicuous  a  part  you  bore,  and  how  much 
lustre  you  reflected  on  a  country  in  which  you  made  the  first 
displays  of  your  character/' 


KEY    OP    THE    BASTILK. 


224:  MOUNT     VERNON 

The  key  of  the  Bastile,  and  the  drawing  representing  the 
demolition  of  the  fortress,  are  at  Mount  Vernon.  The  former 
is  preserved  in  a  glass  case,  and  the  latter  hangs  near  it,  in  the 
same  relative  position  in  which  they  were  originally  placed  by 
Washington,  in  the  great  passage  of  the  mansion. 

Directly  opposite  the  key,  in  the  great  passage,  hangs  the 
spy-glass  used  by  Washington  in  the  Revolution,  and  after- 


WASHINOTON  S   SPY-GLASS. 


ward  at  Mount  Vernon.  This  was  always  carried  by  Billy, 
his  favorite  body-servant,  to  be  used  in  reconnoitring  at  a 
distance.  Mr.  Oustis,  in  his  Recollections  of  Washington, 
gives  the  following  anecdote  in  connection  with  this  spy-glass, 
or  telescope,  on  the  field  of  Monmouth : 

"A  ludicrous  occurrence  varied  the  incidents  of  the  28th  of 
June.  The  servants  of  the  general  officers  were  usually  well 
armed  and  mounted.  Will  Lee,  or  Billy,  the  former  hunts- 
man, and  favorite  body-servant  of  the  Chief,  a  square,  mus- 
cular figure,  and  capital  horseman,  paraded  a  corps  of  valets, 
and,  riding  pompously  at  their  head,  proceeded  to  an  eminence 
crowned  by  a  large  sycamore-tree,  from  whence  could  be  seen 
an  extensive  portion  of  the  field  of  battle.  Here  Billy  halted, 
and,  having  unslung  the  large  telescope  that  he  always  carried 
in  a  leathern  case,  with  a  martial  air  applied  it  to  his  eye,  and 
reconnoitred  the  enemy.  Washington  having  observed  these 
manoeuvres  of  the  corps  of  valets,  pointed  them  out  to  his 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  225 

officers,  observing,  'See  those  fellows  collecting  on  yonder 
height  ;  the  enemy  will  fire  on  them  to  a  certainty.'  Mean- 
while the  British  were  not  unmindful  of  the  assemblage  on  the 
height,  and  perceiving  a  burly  figure  well  mounted,  and  with 
a  telescope  in  hand,  they  determined  to  pay  their  respects  to 
the  group.  A  shot  from  a  six-pounder  passed  through  the 
tree,  cutting  away  the  limbs,  and  producing  a  scampering 
among  the  corps  of  valets,  that  caused  even  the  grave  coun- 
tenance of  the  general-in-chief  to  relax  into  a  smile." 

The  pocket  telescope  used  by  Washington  throughout  the 
war  was  presented  to  President  Jackson,  by  the  late  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  en  the  1st  of  January,  1830.  To 
this  interesting  memorial  Mr.  Custis  had  affixed  a  silver  plate, 
with  the  following  inscription  : 


"Erat  Anctoris,  est  conservatoris,  Libertatis.     1775  — 


On  presenting  the  gift,  Mr.  Custis  observed  that,  "Although 
it  was  in  itself  of  but  little  value,  there  was  attached  unto  it 
recollections  of  the  most  interesting  character.  It  had  been 
raised  to  the  eye  of  the  departed  Chief,  in  the  most  awful  and 
momentous  periods  of  our  mighty  conflict;  it  had  been  his 
companion  from  '75  to  '83,  amid  the  toils,  privations,  the 
hopes,  the  fears,  and  the  final  success  of  our  glorious  struggle 
for  independence;  and,  as  the  memorial  of  the  hero  who 
triumphed  to  obtain  liberty,  it  is  now  appropriately  bestowed 
upon  the  hero  who  triumphed  to  preserve  it.  Mr.  C.  request- 
ed that,  as  he  (the  General)  was  childless,  he  would  be  pleased, 
at  his  decease,  to  leave  the  telescope  as  Alexander  left  hi& 
kingdom  —  '  to  the  most  worthy.'  " 

15 


226 


MOUNT     VERNON 


President  Jackson  accepted  the  present  and  the  compliment, 
and  made  a  brief  response.     Whether  he  left  it  "  to  the  most 

worthy,"  at  his  decease,  or 
where  it  is  now,  we  have  no 
information. 

Washington    carried   with 
him  to  Mount  Yernon,  with 
the    key   of    the    Bastile,   a 
pair   of  elegant   pistols,   which,    with 
equally    elegant    holsters,    had    been 
presented   to   him   by    the    Count   de 
Moustier,  the   French   minister,  as  a 
token  of  his  personal  regard.      These 
weapons,  it  is  believed,  are   the  ones  pre- 
sented by  Washington  to  Col.  Samuel  Hay, 
of  the  tenth  Pennsylvania!!  regiment,  who 
stood   high   in   the   esteem   of  his   general. 
They  bear  the  well-known  cipher  of  Wash- 
ington, and  were  purchased  at  the  sale  of 
Colonel  Hays'  effects,  after  his  death,  toward 
the  close  of  1803,  by  John  Y.  Baldwin,  of 
Newark,  in  New  Jersey.     Mr.  Baldwin  pre- 
sented   them    to    Isaac    I.    Greenwood,    of 
Brooklyn,   New   York,    in    1825,   in    whose 
possession  one  of  them  remains,  the  other 
having  been  lost  on  the  occasion  of  a  fire 
which  destroyed  the  residence  of  Mr.  Green- 
wood's mother.     Our  engraving  represents  the  preserved  one. 

A  son  of  Mr.  Baldwin  relates  an  anecdote  in  connection 
with  these  pistols  : — "When  I  was  a  boy,"  he  says,  "my  father 


WASHINGTON'S  PISTOL. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  227 

would  frequently  take  up  the  Aurora,  a  magazine  then  pub- 
lished in  Philadelphia,  and  marking  off  about  twenty  lines, 
would  say,  'Now,  Joseph,  if  you  read  those  correctly,  and 
without  a  single  mistake,  you  shall  fire  off  one  of  Washing- 
ton's pistols.'  Such  a  promise  was  a  high  incentive,  and  if  the 
task  was  fairly  accomplished,  my  mother  would  take  off  her 
thimble  to  measure  the  charge,  and  my  father,  having  loaded 
the  pistol,  I  would  go  to  the  backdoor  with  an  exulting 
heart,  and  lifting  the  weapon  on  high,  tightly  grasped  with 
both  hands,  pull  the  trigger." 

While  at  Mount  Yernon  in  the  autumn  of  1790,  Washington 
received  from  the  Count  D'Estaing  a  small  bust  of  M.  Necker, 
the  French  minister  of  finance,  or  comptroller-general,  when 
the  French  devolution  broke  out  in  1789.  James  Necker 
was  a  native  of  Geneva,  in  Switzerland.  He  went  to  France 
as  ambassador  for  the  republic,  where,  in  1765,  he  obtained  the 
office  of  syndic  to  the  East  India  Company,  and  in  1775  was 
made  director  of  the  royal  treasury.  He  exhibited  such 
virtue  of  character,  and  such  eminent  abilities,  that  twice, 
though  a  foreigner,  he  was  made  prime  minister  of  France. 
He  was  popular  with  the  people  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
French  Revolution,  but  that  storm  was  so  variable  and  fickle, 
that  he  returned  to  Switzerland,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1804,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 
His  daughter  married  Baron  de  Stae'l  Holstein,  a  Swedish 
ambassador  at  the  court  of  France.  She  was  the  Madame  de 
Stae'l  so  well  known  in  the  world  of  letters. 

The  little  bust  of  Necker  sent  by  D'Estaing  to  Washing- 
ton, is  upon  a  bracket  over  the  fireplace  in  the  library  at 
Mount  Yernon,  where  the  President  placed  it  himself.  Upon 


228  MOUNT     VERNON 

the  tall  pedestal  are  two  brass  plates,  bearing  inscriptions,  and 
also  a  small  plate  upon  the  lower  part  of  the  bust  itself.  On 
the  latter  is  only  the  name  of 

NECKER. 
Upon  the  upper  plate  on  the  pedestal  are  the  words : 

QUI   NOBIS    RESTITUIT   REM. 

Upon  the  second  or  lower  plate  is  inscribed : 

PRESENTED    TO 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA, 

BY    HIS    MOST    DUTIFUL,    MOST     OBEDIENT,    AND     MOST    HUMBLE 

SERVANT,    ESTAING,  A    CITIZEN   OF   THE    STATE    OF 

GEORGIA,  BY    AN    ACT    OF    22o    FEB.,  1785, 

AND  A  CITIZEN  OF  FRANCE  IN  1786. 

Count  D'Estaing,  who  had  twice  commanded  a  French  fleet 
on  our  coast,  in  co-operation  with  American  land  forces,  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Assembly  of  Notables  in  the  early  part 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and  being  suspected  of  an  unfriendly 
feeling  toward  the  Terrorists,  he  was  destroyed  by  the  guillo- 
tine, on  the  29th  of  April,  1793. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


229 


Iii  a  letter  to  Tobias  Lear,  (then  in  New  York,)  dated  at 
Mount  Vernon  on  the  3d  of  August,  1790,  Washington  requests 
him,  when  able  to  get  at  Count  D'Estaing's  letters  (which, 
with  others,  had  been  packed  for  removal  from  New  York 
to  Philadelphia),  to  send  him  a  transcript  of  what  the  Count 
says  of  a  bust  of  M.  Necker  he  had  sent  to  him,  together 
with  a  number  of  prints  of 
Necker  and  Lafayette. 

Upon  another  bracket  in  the 
library  at  Mount  Vernon,  not 
far  from  the  little  head  of 
Necker,  is  a  full-size  bust  of 
Lafayette,  a  copy  ot  the  one  in 
the  capitol  at  Richmond  made 
by  lloudon,  by  order  of  the 
legislature  of  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  1786,  which  was  exe- 
cuted under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  then  American 
minister  in  Paris.  The  legisla- 
ture of  Virginia  also  ordered  a  copy  to  be  made  and  pre- 
sented to  the  city  of  Paris.  This  fact  was  made  known  to 
the  authorities  there,  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  following 
words : 


BUST    OF    M.    NKCKEK. 


"  The  legislature  of  the  state  of  Virginia,  in  consideration  of 
the  services  of  Major-General  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  has 
resolved  to  place  his  bust  in  their  capitol.  This  intention  of 
erecting  a  monument  to  his  virtues,  and  to  the  sentiments  with 
which  he  has  inspired  them,  in  the  country  to  which  they  are 


230 


MOT]  NT     VERNON 


indebted  for  his  birth,  has  induced  a  hope  that  the  city  of 
Paris  would  consent  to  become  the  depository  of  a  second 
proof  of  their  gratitude.  Charged  by  the  state  with  the 


BUST   OF    LAFAYETTE. 


execution  of  this  resolution,  I  have  the  honor  to  solicit  the 
Prevot  des  Marchands  and  municipality  of  Paris  to  accept  the 
bust  of  this  brave  officer,  and  give  it  a  situation  where  it  may 
continually  awaken  the  admiration  and  witness  the  respect  of 
the  allies  of  France. 

"Tnos.  JEFFERSON. 
'Dated  [at  Paris]  llth  September,  1786." 


The  Prevot  soon  received  a  letter  from  the  Baron  de  Bre- 
teuil,  minister  and  secretary  of  state  for  the  department  of 
Paris,  informing  him  that  the  king,  to  whom  the  proposition 
had  been  submitted,  approved  of  the  bust  being  erected  in  the 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  231 

city.  The  council  accordingly  assembled  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  Mr.  Short,  of  Virginia,  representing  Mr.  Jefferson 
(who  was  confined  to  his  room  by  illness),  went  to  the  Hotel 
de  Ville  to  present,  the  bust,  which  Houdon  had  satisfactorily 
executed.  The  proceedings  of  the  meeting  were  opened  by  M. 
Pelletier  de  Morton taine,  counsellor  of  state  and  Prevot  des 
Marchands,  by  stating  its  object.  M.  Veytard,  the  chief 
clerk,  read  all  the  documents  connected  with  the  matter,  after 
which  M.  Ethit  de  Corny,,  attorney-general  and  knight  of 
the  order  of  Cincinnatus,  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he 
recounted  the  services  of  Lafayette  in  America,  the  confidence 
of  the  army  in  him,  and  the  attachment  of  the  people  to  him. 
In  his  official  capacity  he  then  gave  the  requisite  instructions 
for  the  reception  of  the  bust,  agreeably  to  the  wishes  of  the 
king.  It  was  accordingly  placed  in  one  of  the  galleries-  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  where  it  remains  to  this  day. 

This  was  a  most  rare  honor  to  be  paid  to  a  young  man,  only 
twenty-nine  years  of  age.  It  was-  as  unexpected  to  Lafayette 
as  it  was  grateful  to  his  feelings ;,  and  it  was  an  additional  link 
in  the  bright  chain  of  memories  and  sympathies  which  bound, 
him  to  this  country. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  York  to  assume  the  duties-  of 
the  presidency,  Washington  imported  a  fine  coach  from  Eng- 
land, in  which,  toward  the  close  of  the  time  of  his-  residence 
there,  and  while  in  Philadelphia,  he  often  rode  with  his 
family,  attended  by  outriders.  On  these  occasions  it  was  gen- 
erally drawn  by  four,  and  sometimes  by  six  fine  bay  horses. 
The  first  mention  of  a  coach,  in  his  diary,  in  which  he  evident- 
ly refers  to  this  imported  one,  is  under  the  date  of  December 
12,  1789,  where  he  records  as  follows: 


232  MOUNT     V  E  R  X  0  X 

"  Exercised  in  the  coach  with  Mrs.  "Washington  and  the  two 
children  (Master  and  Miss  Custis)  between  breakfast  and  din- 
ner— went  the  fourteen  miles  round."  Previous  to  this  he 


WASHINGTON  8  uiousu  CUACU. 


mentions  exercising  in  "a  coach"  (probably  a  hired  one),  and 
in  "the  post-chaise" — the  vehicle  in  which  he  travelled  from 
Mount  Yernon  to  New  York. 

This  coach  was  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind,  heavy  and  sub- 
stantial. The  body  and  wheels  were  a  cream  color,  with  gilt 
mouldings ;  and  the  former  was  suspended  upon  heavy 
leathern  straps  which  rested  upon  iron  springs.  Portions  of 
the  sides  of  the  upper  part,  as  well  as  the  front  and  rear,  were 
furnished  with  neat  green  Venetian  blinds,  and  the  remainder 
was  enclosed  with  black  leather  curtains.  The  latter  might  be 
raised  so  as  to  make  the  coach  quite  open  in  fine  weather. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS 


233 


^^  C  T  N 


The  blinds  afforded  shelter  from  the  storm  while  allowing 
ventilation.  The  coach  was  lined  with  bright  black  leather; 
and  the  driver's  seat  was  trimmed  with  the  same.  The  axles 
were  wood,  and  the  curved 
reaches  iron. 

Upon  the  door  Washing- 
ton's arms  were  handsomely 
emblazoned,  having  scroll 
ornaments  issuing  from  the 
space  between  the  shield  and 
the  crest ;  and  below  was  a 
ribbon  with  his  motto  upon 
it. 

Upon  each  of  the  four 
panels  of  the  coach  was  an 
allegorical  picture,  emblem- 
atic of  one  of  the  seasons.  These  were  beautifully  painted 
upon  copper  by  Cipriani,  an  Italian  artist.  The  ground  was 
a  very  dark  green — so  dark  that  it  appeared  nearly  black ; 
and  the  allegorical  figures  were  executed  in  bronze,  in  size 
nine  and  a  half  by  ten  inches.  One  of  them,  emblematical  of 
spring,  is  represented  in  the  engraving. 

Washington  and  his  family  travelled  from  Elizabeth  town  to 
Philadelphia  in  this  coach  when  on  their  way  from  New  York 
to  Mount  Yernon,  in  the  early  autumn  of  1Y89.  Dunn,  his 
driver,  appears  to  have  been  quite  incompetent  to  manage  the 
six  horses  with  which  the  coach  was  then  drawn ;  and  almost 
immediately  after  leaving  Elizabethtown  Point,  he  allowed 
the  coach  to  run  into  a  gully,  by  which  it  was  injured.  At 
Governor  Livingston's,  where  they  dined,  another  coachman 


EMBLAZONING   ON    WASHINGTON'S   COACH. 


234 


MOUNT     VERNON 


PICTUKK    ON    A    PANEL  OF    WASHINGTON'S    COACH. 


was  employed.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Lear,  written  at  a  tavern  in 
Maryland,  while  on  his  way  to  Mount  Vernon,  Washington 
said : 

"  Dunn  has  given  such  proof  of  his  want  of  skill  in  driving, 
that  I  find  myself  under  the  necessity  of  looking  out  for  some 
one  to  take  his  place.  Before  we  reached  Elizabethtown  we 
were  obliged  to  take  him  from  the  coach  and  put  him  on  the 
wagon.  This  he  turned  over  twice,  and  this  morning  he  was 
found  much  intoxicated.  He  has  also  got  the  horses  into  the 
habit  of  stopping." 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  235 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Leur  soon  after  arriving  at  Mount  Yernon, 
Washington  mentions  the  fact  that  he  had  left  his  coach 
and  harness  with  Mr.  Clarke,  a  coach-maker  in  Philadelphia, 
for  repairs,  and  requests  him  to  see  that  they  are  well  done, 
when  he  shall  reach  that  city,  Mr.  Lear  being  then  in  New 
York.  Clarke  built  the  coach  in  England,  came  over  with 
it  and  another  precisely  like  it  (which  was  imported  by 
Mrs.  Powell,  of  Philadelphia),  and  settled  in  business  in  that 
city. 

On  the  31st  of  October,  Washington  again  writes  about  his 
coach,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Lear.  He  appears  to  have  had  the 
emblazoning  changed  at  that  time,  and  instead  of  his  entire 
coat-of-arms  upon  the  doors,  he  had  the  crest  only  retained. 
He  tells  Mr.  Lear  that  he  thinks  a  wreatli  around  the  crests 
would  better  correspond  with  the  seasons  which  were  to  re- 
main on  the  panels,  than  the  motto ;  and  suggests  that  the 
motto  might  be  put  upon  the  plates  of  the  harness.  He  leaves 
the  whole  matter,  however,  to  the  taste  and  judgment  of  Mr. 
Lear  and  the  coach-maker. 

This  English  coach  was  purchased  by  the  late  Mr.  Custis, 
of  Arlington,  when  the  effects  of  the  general  were  sold,  after 
Mrs.  Washington's  death ;  and  it  finally  became  the  property 
of  the  Right  Reverend  William  Meade,  now  Bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia.  Of  this  vehicle,  the 
bishop  thus  writes : 

"  His  old  English  coach,  in  which  himself  and  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington not  only  rode  in  Fairfax  county,  but  travelled  through 
the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  was  so  faithfully 
executed,  that  at  the  conclusion  of  that  long  journey,  its  build- 
er, who  came  over  with  it,  and  settled  in  Alexandria,  was 


236  MOUNT    YERNON 

proud  to  be  told  by  the  general,  that  not  a  nail  or  screw  had 
failed.  It  so  happened,  in  a  way  I  need  not  state,  that  this 
coach  came  into  my  hands  about  fifteen  years  after  the  death 
of  General  Washington.  In  the  course  of  time,  from  disuse, 
it  being  too  heavy  for  these  latter  days,  it  began  to  decay  and 
give  away.  Becoming  an  object  of  desire  to  those  who  delight 
in  relics,  I  caused  it  to  be  taken  to  pieces  and  distributed 
among  the  admiring  friends  of  Washington  who  visited  my 
house,  and  also  among  a  number  of  female  associations  for 
benevolent  and  religious  objects,  which  associations,  at  their 
fairs  and  other  occasions,  made  a  large  profit  by  converting 
the  fragments  into  .walking-sticks,  picture-frames,  and  snuff- 
boxes. About  two-thirds  of  one  of  the  wheels  thus  pro- 
duced one  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  at  its  dissolution  it  yielded  more  to  the  cause  of 
charity  than  it  cost  its  builder  at  its  first  erection.  Besides 
other  mementos  of  it,  I  have  in  my  study,  in  the  form  of  a 
sofa,  the  hind  seat,  on  which  the  general  and  his  lady  were 
wont  to  sit."* 

From  Mount  Yernon,  during  the  recess,  Washington  wrote 
several  letters  to  Mr.  Lear,  who  was  charged  with  the  removal 
of  the  effects  of  the  President  from  New  York,  hiring  a  house 
for  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  and  arranging  the  furniture 
of  it.  Previous  to  Washington's  arrival  in  Philadelphia  from 
New  York,  the  corporation  of  the  latter  city  had  hired  for  his 
use  the  house  of  Robert  Morris,  in  Market  street,  on  the  south 
side  of  Sixth  street — the  best  that  could  be  procured  at  that 
time.  Washington  had  examined  it  and  found  it  quite  too 

*  Meade's  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  in  Virginia,  II,  237. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  237 

small  to  accommodate  his  household  as  he  could  wish,  even 
with  an  addition  that  was  to  be  made.  "  There  are  good  sta- 
bles," he  said,  "  but  for  twelve  horses  only,  and  a  coach- 
house which  will  hold  all  my  carriages."  There  was  a  fine 
garden,  wTell  enclosed  by  a  brick  wall,  attached  to  the  man- 
sion. 

The  state  legislature,  had,  at  about  the  same  time,  appropri- 
ated a  fine  building  for  his  use  on  South  Ninth  street,  on  the 
grounds  now  covered  by  the  University.  But  he  declined  ac- 
cepting it,  because  he  would  not  live  in  a  house  hired  and  fur- 
nished at  the  public  expense. 

There  were  other  considerations,  without  doubt,  that  caused 
Washington  to  decline  the  liberal  offers  of  the  state  and  city 
authorities,  to  relieve  him  of  any  private  expense  for  the  sup- 
port of  his  personal  establishment.  The  question  of  the  per- 
manent locality  of  the  seat  of  the  federal  government  was  not 
then  fairly  settled,  and  the  Philadelphians  were  using  every 
means  in  their  power  to  have  it  fixed  in  their  city.  Wash- 
ington was  aware  of  this,  and  as  he  was  more  favorable  to  a 
site  farther  south,  he  was  unwilling  to  afford  a  plea  in  favor 
of  Philadelphia,  such  as  the  providing  of  a  presidential  man- 
sion would  afford. 

This  matter  appears  to  have  given  Washington  considerable 
anxiety.  He  was  willing  to  rent  Mr.  Morris's  house  on  his 
own  account,  and,  with  "his  accustomed  prudence,  he  directed 
Mr.  Lear  to  ascertain  the  price;  but  up  to  the  middle  of  No- 
vember his  secretary  was  unsuccessful  in  his  inquiries,  though 
they  were  repeatedly  made.  Washington  was  unwilling  to 
go  into  it,  without  first  knowing  what  rent  he  had  to  pay. 
u  Mr.  Morris,  has  most  assuredly,"  he  said,  "  formed  an  idea 


238  MOUNT    VERNON 

of  what  ought  to  be  the  rent  of  the  tenement  in  the  condition 
he  left  it ;  and  with  this  aid,  the  committee  [of  the  Philadel- 
phia city  council]  ought,  I  conceive,  to  be  as  little  at  a  loss 
in  determining  what  it  should  rent  for,  with  the  additions 
and  alterations  which  are  about  to  be  made,  and  which  ought 
to  be  done  in  a  plain  and  neat  and  not  by  any  means  in  an 
extravagant  style ;  because  the  latter  is  not  only  contrary  to 
my  wish,  but  would  really  be  detrimental  to  my  interest 
and  convenience,  principally  because  it  would  be  the  means 
of  keeping  me  out  of  the  use  and  comforts  of  a  home  to  a  late 
period,  and  because  the  furniture  and  every  thing  else  would 
require  to  be  accordant  therewith." 

Washington  was  convinced  that  the  committee  was  delaying 
with  the  intention  of  having  the  rent  paid  by  the  public,  to 
which  he  would  not  consent ;  and  he  was  not  willing  to  have 
the  place  fixed  and  furnished  in  an  extravagant  manner,  and 
thus  be  subjected  to  pay  extortionate  prices  for  the  same. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  lie  said,  "  nor  do  I  believe  that  any  thing 
unfair  is  intended  by  either  Mr.  Morris  or  the  committee ;  but 
let  us  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  rooms  (the  new  ones  I 
mean)  were  to  be  hung  with  tapestry,  or  a  very  rich  and  costly 
paper,  neither  of  wrhich  would  suit  my  present  furniture ;  that 
costly  ornaments  for  the  bow  windows,  extravagant  chimney- 
pieces  and  the  like  were  to  be  provided ;  that  workmen,  from 
extravagance  of  the  times,  for  every  twenty  shillings'  worth  of 
work  would  charge  forty  shillings ;  and  that  advantage  would 
be  taken  of  the  occasion  to  newly  paint  every  part  of  the 
house  and  buildings ;  wrould  there  be  any  propriety  in  adding 
ten  or  twelve-and-a-half  per  cent,  for  all  this  to  the  rent  of  the 
house  in  its  original  state,  for  the  two  years  that  I  am  to  hold 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  239 

it?  If  the  solution  of  these  questions  is  in  the  negative, 
wherein  lies  the  difficulty  of  determining  that  the  houses  and 
lots,  when  finished  according  to  the  proposed  plan,  ought  to 
rent  for  so  much. 

"  When  all  is  done  that  can  be  done,  the  residence  will  not 
be  so  commodious  as  that  I  left  in  New  York,  for  there  (and 
the  want  of  it  will  be  found  a  real  inconvenience  at  Mr. 
Morris's)  my  office  was  in  the  front  room,  below,  where 
persons  on  business  immediately  entered ;  whereas,  in  the 
present  case,  they  will  have  to  ascend  two  pairs  of  stairs,  and 
to  pass  by  the  public  rooms  as  well  as  the  private  chambers  to 
get  to  it." 

In  making  suggestions  to  Mr.  Lear  about  the  proper  ar- 
rangement of  the  furniture,  even  in  minute  detail,  "Washington 
said:  "There  is  a  small  room  adjoining  the  kitchen  that  might, 
if  it  is  not  essential  for  other  purposes,  be  appropriated  to  the 
Sevres  china,  and  other  things  of  that  sort,  which  are  not  in 
common  use."  He  undoubtedly  referred  to  the  sets  of  china 
which  had  been  presented,  one  to  himself,  and  the  other  to 
Mrs.  Washington,  by  the  officers  of  the  French  army.  The 
former  was  a  dull  white  in  color,  with  heavy  and  confused 
scroll  and  leaf  ornaments  in  bandeaux  of  deep  blue,  and  hav- 
ing upon  the  sides  of  the  cups  and  tureens,  and  in  the  bottoms 
of  the  plates,  saucers,  and  meat  dishes,  the  Order  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, held  by  Fame,  personated  by  a  winged  woman  with 
a  trumpet.  These  designs  were  skilfully  painted  in  delicate 
colors. 

These  sets  of  china  were  presented  to  Washington  and  his 
wife,  at  the  time  when  the  elegant  and  costly  Order  of  the 
Cincinnati  (delineated  on  page  130)  was  sent  to  him.  That 


240 


MOUNT     VERNON 


Order,  I  omitted  to  mention  in  the  proper  place,  cost  three 
thousand  dollars.  The  whole  of  the  eagle,  except  the  beak  and 
eye,  is  composed  of  diamonds.  So,  also,  is  the  group  of  mili- 
tary emblems  above  it,  in  which  each  drum-head  is  composed 
of  one  large  diamond. 


WASHINGTON'S    CINCINNATI    CHINA. 


Several  pieces  of  the  Cincinnati  china,  as  it  is  called,  are 
preserved  at  Arlington  House.  In  the  engraving  is  shown  a 
group  composed  of  a  large  plate,  a  soup  tureen,  custard  cup, 
and  teapot. 

The  set  of  china  presented  at  the  same  time  by  the  French 
officers  to  Mrs.  Washington,  was  of  similar  material,  but  more 
delicate  in  color  than  the  general's.  The  ornamentation  was 
also  far  more  delicate,  excepting  the  delineation  of  the  figure 
and  Cincinnati  Order  on  the  former.  Around  the  outside  of 
each  cup  and  tureen,  and  the  inside  of  each  plate  and  saucer, 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


MBS     WASHINGTON"  S   CHINA. 


is  painted,  in  delicate  color,  a  chain  of  thirteen  large  and 
thirteen  small  elliptical  links.  Within  each  large  link  is  the 
name  of  one  of  the  original  thirteen  states.  On  the  sides  ot 

O 

the  cups  and  tureens,  and  in  the  bottom  of  each  plate  and 
saucer,  is  the  interlaced  monogram  of  Martha  Washington — 
M.  W. — enclosed  in  a  beautiful  green  wreath,  composed  of  the 
leaves  of  the  laurel  and  olive.  Beneath  this  is  a  ribbon,  upon 
which  is  inscribed,  in  delicately-traced  letters,  DECUS  ET  TUTAM 
KNABILLO.  From  the  wreath  are  rays  of  gold,  which  give  a 
brilliant  appearance  to  the  pieces.  There  is  also  a  delicate- 
colored  stripe  around  the  edges  of  the  cups,  saucers,  and 
plates.  A  few  pieces  of  this  set  of  china  are  preserved  at 
Arlington  House.  The  engraving  represents  a  cup  and  saucer, 
and  plate. 

Mrs.  Atkinson,  of  Gennantown,  granddaughter  of  Dr.  David 
Stuart,  who  owns  Washington's  telescope,  already  mentioned, 

16 


242  MOUNT     VERNON 

bas  a  single  piece  of  porcelain  ware  that  belonged  to  the 
household  goods  of  Mount  Vernon.  It  is  a  white  china  butter- 
bowl  and  dish,  with  a  cover.  It  is  entirely  white,  with  the 
exception  of  a  gold  stripe  along  the  edges  of  the  bowl  and 

dish,  and  the  knob  of  the 

lid.     The  bowl  and  dish  are 

united. 

At    that   time    the   china 

like  that  presented  by  the 


CHINA    BUTTER-BOWL    AND    DISH. 


made  at  the  Sevres  manufactory,  the  art  of  decorating  porce- 
lain or  china-ware  with  enamel  colors  and  gold  being  then 
not  generally  known.  The  colors  used  are  all  prepared  from 
metallic  oxides,  which  are  ground  with  fluxes,  or  fusible  glasses 
of  various  degrees  of  softness,  suited  to  the  peculiar  colors  with 
which  they  are  used.  When  painted,  the  goods  are  placed  in 
the  enamel  kiln,  when  the  fluxed  colors  melt  and  fasten  to 
the  glazed  surface,  forming  colored  glasses.  The  gold,  which 
is  applied  in  the  form  of  an  amalgam,  ground  in  turpentine, 
is  afterward  polished  with  steel  burnishers. 

The  first  Monday  in  December  was  the  day  fixed  upon  for 
the  assembling  of  Congress.  The  seat  of  government,  as  we 
have  observed,  had  been  transferred  to  Philadelphia,  not  per- 
manently, but  temporarily.  As  early  as  December,  1788,  the 
legislature  of  Virginia  had  offered  to  present  to  the  United 
States  a  tract  of  land  ten  miles  square,  anywhere  within  the 
bounds  of  that  commonwealth,  for  the  permanent  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. Maryland  made  a  similar  offer.  The  citizens  ot 
New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  asked  to  have  it  upon  the 
Delaware,  within  a  tract  of  land  ten  miles  square,  to  be  ceded 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  213 

to  the  United  States.  The  people  of  Trenton,  in  New  Jersey, 
petitioned  to  have  it  there;  those  of  Lancaster,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, wished  to  have  it  there,  while,  as  we  have  observed, 
the  Philadelphians  were  extremely  anxious  to  have  their  city 
remain  the  federal  capital,  as  it  had  been  most  of  the  time 
since  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution. 

States  and  towns  perceived  great  local  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  a  political  metropolis  in  their  midst,  and  were 
ready  to  make  heavy  sacrifices  to  obtain  the  boon.  It  is 
amusing  to  observe,  in  the  correspondence  and  public  proceed- 
ings of  the  times,  how  strongly  local  prejudices  were  engaged 
in  the  consideration  of  the  matter.  Dr.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia, 
eager  to  have  the  Congress  fix  on  that  city  as  its  future  home, 
wrote  to  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  representatives,  saying :  "  1 
rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  Congress  leaving  New  York ;  it  is  a 
sink  of  political  vice ;"  and  advised  tearing  it  away  from  that 
city  "  in  any  way"  A  Yirginian  declared  that,  in  his  opinion, 
New  York  was  the  best  situation  in  the  Union  for  the  federal 
capital,  it  being  superior  to  any  place  within  his  knowledge, 
"  for  the  orderly  and  decent  behavior  of  its  inhabitants ;"  while 
the  South  Carolinians  objected  to  Philadelphia,  on  account  of 
the  Quakers,  who,  they  declared,  were  "  eternally  dogging 
Southern  members  with  their  schemes  of  slave  emancipation." 

It  was  finally  agreed  by  both  Houses  of  Congress,  that  the 
federal  capital  should  be  upon  the  "  Potomac  River,  between 
the  eastern  branch  and  Conogocheague,"  and  that  Philadelphia 
should  be  the  federal  city  for  ten  years,  until  the  one  upon 
the  Potomac  should  be  laid  out,  and  proper  public  buildings 
erected.  The  selection  of  the  exact  site  was  left  to  the  Presi- 
dent. 


24:4:  MOUNT    VERXON 

This  action  dissatisfied  the  New  Yorkers,  and  elated  the 
Philadelphians,  for  they  considered  a  "  half  loaf  better  than  no 
bread."  Robert  Morris  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  residence  of  the  government  at  Philadelphia  for  the 
ten  years,  and  wit  and  satire  pointed  their  keenest  arrows  at 
him.  A  caricature  was  issued  "in  which,"  says  Griswold, 
"the  stout  senator  from  Pennsylvania  was  seen  marching  off 
with  the  federal  hall  upon  his  shoulders,  its  windows  crowded 
with  members  of  both  houses,  encouraging  or  anathematizing 
this  novel  mode  of  deportation,  while  the  devil,  from  the  roof 
of  the  Paulus'  Hook  ferry-house,  beckoned  to  him  in  a  patron- 
izing manner,  crying,  '  This  way,  Bobby.' " 

Freneau,  who  had  written  many  pungent  poems  during  the 
Revolution,  used  his  pen  upon  the  topic  of  the  removal  with 
considerable  vigor,  in  prose  and  verse.  In  a  political  epistle, 
he  makes  a  New  York  housemaid  say  to  her  friend  in  Phila- 
delphia : 

"As  for  us,  my  dear  Nanny,  we're  much  in  a  pet, 
And  hundreds  of  houses  will  be  to  be  let ; 
Our  streets,  that  were  just  in  a  way  to  look  clever, 
Will  now  be  neglected  and  nasty  as  ever ; 
Again  we  must  fret  at  the  Dutchified  gutters 
And  pebble-stone  pavements,  that  wear  out  our  trotters. 

********* 
This  Congress  unsettled  is,  suie,  a  sad  thing — 
Seven  years,  my  dear  Xanny,  they've  been  on  the  wing ; 
My  master  would  rather  saw  timber,  or  dig 
Than  see  them  removing  to  Conogocheague — 
Where  the  houses  and  kitchens  are  yet  to  be  framed, 
The  trees  to  be  felled  and  the  streets  to  be  named." 

There  were   some    Philadelphians   who   were    as    afflicted 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 

because  Congress  was  coming  there,  as  New  Yorkers  were 
in  having  the  government  leave  their  city.  As  soon  as  it  was 
ascertained  that  the  government  would  reside  there  ten  years, 
rents,  and  the  prices  of  every  kind  of  provisions  and  other 
necessaries  of  life,  greatly  advanced.  "Some  of  the  blessings," 
said  a  letter-writer  at  Philadelphia,  quoted  by  Griswold,  "  an- 
ticipated from  the  removal  of  Congress  to  this  city,  are  already 
beginning  to  be  apparent.  Rents  of  houses  have  risen,  and  I 
fear  will  continue  to  rise  shamefully ;  even  in  the  outskirts 
they  have  lately  been  increased  from  fourteen,  sixteen,  and 
eighteen  pounds  to  twenty-five,  twenty-eight,  and  thirty.  This 
is  oppression.  Our  markets,  it  is  expected,  will  also  be  dearer 
than  heretofore." 

It  was  a  view  of  these  changes,  and  anticipated  extortion, 
that  made  Washington  so  anxious  to  know  beforehand  how 
much  rent  he  must  pay  for  his  house  in  Philadelphia,  and  to 
avoid  furnishing  it  in  an  extravagant  manner,  as  he  did  not 
expect  to  remain  there  more  than  two  years.  He  was  resolved 
to  continue  the  unostentatious  way  of  living  he  had  com- 
menced in  New  York,  not  only  on  his  own  account,  but  for 
the  benefit  of  those  connected  with  the  government  who  could 
not  afford  to  spend  more  than  their  salaries.  And  that  resolu- 
tion, well  carried  out,  was  most  salutary  in  its  effects.  "When 
Oliver  Wolcott,  of  Connecticut,  was  appointed  first  auditor 
of  the  treasury,  he,  like  a  prudent  man,  before  he  would 
accept  the  office,  went  to  New  York  to  ascertain  whether  he 
could  live  upon  the  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could  live  upon  one  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year,  and  he  wrote  to  his  wife,  saying :  "  The 
example  of  the  President  and  his  family  will  render  parade 


24-6  MOUNT     VERNON 

and  expense  improper  and  disreputable."  This  sentence  speaks 
powerfully  in  illustration  of  the  republican  simplicity  of  Wash- 
ington's household  in  those  days. 

The  rent  of  Morris's  house  was  fixed  at  three  thousand  dollars 
a  year,  and  on  the  22d  of  November,  Washington  left  Mount 
Vernon  for  Philadelphia,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Washington 
and  Master  and  Miss  Custis,  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses. 
They  were  allowed  to  travel  quietly,  without  any  public  pa- 
rade, but  receiving  at  every  shopping-place  the  warm  welcome 
of  many  private  citizens  and  personal  friends.  None  gave 
the  President  a  heartier  shake  of  the  hand  on  this  occasion, 
and  none  was  more  welcome  to  grasp  it,  than  Tommy  Giles,  a 
short,  thickset  man,  of  English  birth,  who  kept  a  little  tavern  a 
short  distance  from  the  Head  of  Elk  (now  Elkton),  on  the  road 
from  Baltimore.  His  tavern-sign  displayed  a  rude  portrait  of 
Washington  ;  and  the  President  on  his  way  to  and  from  Mount 
Vernon,  never  passed  by  until  he  had  greeted  the  worthy  man. 

Tommy  had  been  a  fife-major  in  the  Continental  army,  and 
had  been  -employed  a  long  time  by  Washington  as  his  confi- 
dential express  in  the  transmission  of  money  from  one  point  to 
another.  In  this  business  lie  was  most  trustworthy.  Mrs. 
Giles  was  a  stout  Englishwoman,  but  republican  to  the  core. 
Washington  always  shook  hands  with  her  as  heartily  as  with 
her  husband,  and  frequently  left  a  guinea  in  her  palm. 

On  these  occasions,  when  the  President  had  passed,  Tommy 
would  array  himself  in  his  Continental  uniform,  and  hasten  to 
Hollings worth's  tavern,  in  Elkton  (where  Washington  slept, 
or  took  a  meal  and  fed  his  horses),  to  pay  his  respects  in  a 
formal  manner  to  his  beloved  General.  Washington  always 
treated  him  with  the  greatest  consideration,  and  for  several 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  247 

days  after  such  interviews,  Tommy  would  be  the  greatest  man 
in  the  village. 

Tommy  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Elkton,  by  "Washing- 
ton, and  was  for  several  years  crier  of  the  Cecil  county  court. 
He  always  deported  himself  with  dignity ;  and,  regarding  his 
acquaintance  with  Washington  and  his  official  position  as  suf- 
ficient claim  to  profound  personal  respect,  he  sometimes  as- 
sumed an  authoritative  manner  quite  amusing.  In  a  recent 
letter  to  me,  an  old  resident  of  Philadelphia,  speaking  of  Tom- 
my, remarks;  UI  was  once  obliged  to  attend  court  as  a  witness,, 
and  one  day  went  home,  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles.  I 
returned  the  following  morning  in  a  snow-storm,  in  the  month 
of  April,  and  reached  the  court-house  a  few  minutes  after  nine 
o'clock,  when  Mr.  Giles  was  making  his  proclamation  for  me 
to  appear.  As  I  dismounted  from  my  horse,  my  nose  com- 
menced bleeding,  and  I  called  across  the  street  to  say  I  would 
be  in  court  as  soon  as  it  stopped.  Tommy  rejoined  shortly 
and  authoritatively,  ;  You  have  no  business  to  let  your  nose 
bleed  when  the  court  wants  you !'  The  court  was  more  in- 
dulgent, and  readily  excused  me." 

The  President  and  his  family  reached  Philadelphia  on  Sat- 
urday, the  28th  of  November,  and  found  their  house  in  read- 
iness for  them.  Mr.  Lear  had  brought  on  the  furniture  from 
New  York,  purchased  some  in  Philadelphia,  and  arranged  the 
house  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  President  and  his  wife. 
Yet  it  was  some  time  before  they  were  ready  to  see  company, 
and  the  first  of  Mrs.  Washington's  public  receptions  was  on 
Friday  evening,  the  25th  of  December — Christmas-day.  It 
is  said  that  the  most  brilliant  assemblage  of  beautiful,  well- 
dressed,  and  well-educated  women  that  had  ever  been  seen  in 


24:8  MOUNT     VEBXON 

America,  appeared  at  that  levee.     The  Vice-President's  wife 

s 

mentioned  in  a  letter  that  "the  dazzling  Mrs.  Bingliam  and 
her  beautiful  sisters  [Misses  Willing],  the  Misses  Aliens,  the 
Misses  Chew,  and  in  short,  a  constellation  of  beauties,"  were 
present. 

The  season  opened  very  gayly,  and  balls,  routs  and  dinners 
of  the  most  sumptuous  kind,  succeeded  each  other  in  rapid 
succession.  "  I  should  spend  a  very  dissipated  winter,"  wrote 
Mrs.  Adams,  "  if  I  were  to  accept  one-half  the  invitations  I 
receive,  particularly  to  the  routs,  or  tea-and-cards."  Phila- 
delphia had  never  seen  or  felt  any  thing  like  it,  and  the  whole 
town  was  in  a  state  of  virtual  intoxication  for  several  weeks. 
But  Washington  and  his  wife  could  not  be  seduced  from  their 
temperate  habits,  by  the  scene's  of  immoderate  pleasure  around 
them.  They  held  their  respective  levees  on  Tuesdays  and 
Fridays,  as  they  did  in  New  York,  without  the  least  ostenta- 
tion ;  and  Congressional  and  official  dinners  were  also  given 
in  a  plain  way,  without  any  extravagant  displays  of  plate,  or- 
nament, or  variety  of  dishes. 

Having  furnished  his  house  as  a  permanent  residence  while 
.he  should  remain  President,  Washington  had  indulged  in 
some  things  which  would  insure  congruity,  that  were  not  seen 
in  New  York.  He  had  ordered  through  Gouvernenr  Morris, 
then  in  Paris,  some  articles  for  his  sideboard  and  table. 
Among  them  were  -some  silver-plated  wine-coolers,  the  cost 
of  which  rather  startled  him.  He  had  received  an  invoice 
of  them,  before  he  left  Mount  Vernon,  and  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Lear,  he  wrote : 

"  Enclosed  I  send  you  a  letter  from  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris, 
with  a  bill  of  the  cost  of  the  articles  he  was  to  send  me.  The 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  249 

prices  of  the  plated  ware  exceed — far  exceed — the  utmost 
bounds  of  my  calculation  ;  but  as  I  am  persuaded  he  has 
done  what  he  conceives  right,  I  am  satisfied,  and  request  you 
to  make  immediate  payment  to  Mr.  Constable,  if  you  can 
raise  the  means." 

He  then  spoke  of  wine-coolers,  that  had  been  sent,  an  article 
that  he  had  never  used,  and  says :  "  As  these  coolers  are 
designed  for  warm  weather,  and  will  be,  I  presume,  useless  in 
cold,  or  in  that  in  which  the  liquors  do  not  require  cooling, 
quere,  would  not  a  stand  like  that  for  casters,  with  four  aper- 
tures for  so  many  different  kinds  of  liquors,  each  aperture  just 
sufficient  to  hold  one  of  the  cut  decanters  sent  by  Mr.  Morris, 
be  more  convenient  for  passing  the  bottles  from  one  to  another, 
than  the  handing  each  bottle  separately,  by  which  it  often 
happens  that  one  b'ottle  moves,  another  stops,  and  all  are  in 
confusion?  Two  of  them — one  for  each  end  of  the  table,  with 
a  flat  bottom,  with  or  without  feet,  open  at  the  sides,  but  with 
a  raised  rim,  as  caster-stands  have,  and  an  upright,  by  way  of 
handle,  in  the  middle — could  not  cost  a  great  deal,  even  if 
made  wholly  of  silver.  Talk  to  a  silversmith,  and  ascertain 
the  cost,  and  whether  they  could  be  immediately  made,  if  re- 
quired, in  a  handsome  fashion. 

"  Perhaps  the  coolers  sent  by  Mr.  Morris  may  afford  ideas 
of  taste ;  perhaps,  too  (if  they  prove  not  too  heavy,  when 
examined),  they  may  supersede  the  necessity  of  such  as  I  have 
described,  by  answering  the  purpose  themselves.  Four  double 
flint  bottles  (such  as  I  suspect  Mr.  Morris  has  sent),  will  weigh, 
I  conjecture,  four  pounds  ;  the  wine  in  them  when  they  are 
filled  will  be  eight  pounds  more,  which,  added  to  the  weight 
of  the  coolers,  will,  I  fear,  make  these  latter  too  unwieldy  to 


250  MOUNT     VERNON 

pass,  especially  by  ladies,  which  induces  me  to  think  of  the 
frame  in  the  form  of  casters." 

Mr.  Lear  was  pleased  with  Washington's  suggestions,  and 
ordered  a  silversmith  to  make  two  of  the  caster-like  frames, 
of  solid  silver,  and  these  were  used  upon  the  President's  table 
on  the  occasion  of  the  first  dinner  which  he  gave  to  the  offi- 
cers of  government  and  their  families,  foreign  ministers  and 
their  families,  and  other  distinguished  guests.  Their  lightness 
and  convenience  commended  them,  and  from  that  time  they 
became  fashionable,  under  the  appropriate  title  of  coasters. 
Thenceforth  the  \vir\e-cooler  was  left  upon  the  sideboard,  and 
the  coaster  alone  was  used  for  sending  the  wine  around  the 
table.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward,  the 
coaster  might  be  seen  upon  the  table  of  every  fashionable 
family  in  Philadelphia.  Few  persons,  however,  are  aware 
that  Washington  was  the  inventor  of  it. 

The  coolers  sent  over  by  Mr.  Morris,  were  eight  in  number, 
four  large  and  four  smaller  ones,  the  former  holding  four 
bottles,  and  the  latter  two.  Two  of  the  larger  ones  were 
presented  by  Washington  to  General  Hamilton,  and  are  now 
in  possession  of  Mrs.  Holley,  of  Washington  city,  a  daughter  of 
the  latter.  The  others  were  taken  from  Philadelphia  to  Mount 
Vernon,  and  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Washington,  passed  into 
the  possession  of  her  grandson,  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis.  They  now  belong  to  Mr.  Custis's  daughter,  at  Arling- 
ton House.  They  are  both  elliptical  in  form  at  top,  the  larger 
one  nine  inches  in  height,  and  the  smaller  one  eight  inches. 
The  silver  coasters  are  also  at  Arlington  House.  They  are  four- 
teen inches  in  height,  and  each  is  composed  of  four  baskets 
united  to  a  handle  in  the  centre,  made  of  strong  wire.  There 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


251 


WINE-COOLERS    AND    COASTKB. 


is  a  roller  under  the  centre  of  each  basket,  by  which  the  coast- 
er is  more  easily  sent  around  the  table.  A  specimen  of  each 
of  these  articles  is  seen  in  the  engraving  upon  the  next  page. 

Washington  took  his  family  plate  with  him  when  he  went 
to  New  York  in  1789,  and  there  had  it  made  over  into  more 
elegant  and  massive  forms.  Several  pieces  were  also  added 
to  it,  and  this  service  graced  his  table  and  sideboard  in  Phil- 
adelphia. Several  pieces  of  this  plate  are  now  in  use  at 
Arlington  House.  The  engraving  shows  five  of  them,  namely, 
a  round  salver,  an  elliptical  tray,  a  coffee-pot,  teapot,  and 
sugar-bowl.  All  of  these  have  Washington's  crest  neatly  en- 
graven upon  them.  The  tray  with  handles,  all  of  massive 
silver,  is  plain,  except  a  beaded  rim.  It  is  twenty-two  inches 
in  length,  and  seventeen  and  a  half  inches  in  breadth.  This, 


252 


MOUNT     VERNON 


with  the  waiter,  was  used  at  all  the  levees  and  drawing-rooms 
of  the  President  and  Mrs.  Washington,  during  the  eight  years 
of  their  public  life  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  served 


SPECIMENS   OF    WASHINGTON'S    PLATE. 

the  purposes  of  hospitality  afterward,  at  Mount  Yernon.  How 
many  eyes,  beaming  with  the  light  of  noble  souls,  have  looked 
upon  the  glittering  planes  of  that  tray  and  salver!  How  many 
hands  that  once  wielded  mighty  swords,  and  mightier  pens, 
in  the  holy  cause  of  universal  freedom,  long  since  mouldered 
into  native  earth,  have  taken  from  them  the  sparkling  glass, 
while  health  and  long  life  were  invoked  for  Washington  ! 

Mr.  Custis  once  related  to  me  a  pleasing  circumstance  con- 
nected with  the  use  of  that  tray.  Gushing  from  a  rocky  bank 
beneath  the  trunk  of  a  huge  oak-tree — a  genuine  Anak  of  the 
primeval  forest — near  the  bank  of  the  Potomac,  on  his  estate, 
is  a  copious  spring,  and  around  it  stands  a  beautiful  grove, 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


253 


wherein  parties  from  Alexandria,  Washington  city  and  George- 
town, have  picnics  in  the  summer  months.  For  the  accommo- 
dation of  these,  Mr.  Custis  generously  erected,  near  the  spring, 
a  kitchen  and  dancing-hall ;  and  he  frequently  attended  the 
joyous  gatherings,  and  lent  servants  to  wait  upon  the  ladies. 

On  one  occasion,  a  party  of  military,  accompanied  by  ladies, 
went  over  to  Arlington  spring,  from  Washington  city,  for  a 
day's  recreation.  Mr.  Custis  sent  his  favorite  servant,  Charles, 
to  wait  upon  the  company  at  table.  He  also  sent  down  the 
precious  silver  tray  for  their  use.  Placing  a  dozen  glasses  of 
ice  cream  upon  it,  Charles  carried  it  to  the  visitors,  and  said, 
"  Ladies,  this  waiter  once  belonged  to  General  Washington, 
and  from  it  all  the  great  ladies  of  the  Revolution  took  wine." 
The  young  ladies,  as  if  actuated  by  one  impulse,  immediately 
arose,  crowded  around  Charles,  and  each  in  turn,  kissed  the 
cold  rim  of  the  salver,  before  touching  the  cream. 

The  session  of  1790-91,  was  the  third  of  the  first  Congress, 

and  ended  by  limitation  on 
the  3d  of  March ;  but  Wash- 
ington did  not  depart  from 
Philadelphia  for  Mount  Yer- 
non,  until  Monday  the  21st. 
On  that  day,  at  twelve 
o'clock,  he  and  his  family 
left  his  residence  on  Market- 
street,  in  his  English  coach, 
drawn  by  six  horses,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Gen- 
eral Knox  (two  of  the  heads  of  departments),  who  escorted 
them  as  far  as  Delaware.  Major  Jackson  was  also  of  the 
party.  He  accompanied  Washington  to  Mount  Yernon,  and 


THE    PRESIDENTIAL    MANSION. 


254  MOUNT    VERNON 

throughout  an  extensive  tour  through  the  Southern  states, 
which  the  President  commenced  a  few  days  afterward. 

That  tour  had  occupied  Washington's  thoughts  from  time  to 
time,  for  several  months.  Many  leading  men  of  the  South 
invited  him  to  visit  their  respective  states.  He  had  made  a 
tour  eastward,  and  it  was  deemed  expedient  that  the  Southern 
states  should  be  honored  by  his  presence.  Their  invitations 
generally  expressed  a  desire,  that  the  President,  in  the  event 
of  his  making  such  tour,  should  honor  the  writers  by  a  resi- 
dence with  them,  while  he  remained  in  their  respective  neigh- 
borhoods. Among  others  who  proffered  the  hospitalities  of 
his  house  was  Colonel  William  Washington,  the  heroic  cavalry 
officer  in  the  southern  campaigns  under  Greene,  who  was  then 
residing  in  Charleston.  But  his  invitation,  like  all  others  of 
the  same  kind,  was  declined  for  reasons  which  Washington 
frankly  stated : 

"  I  cannot,"  he  said,  "  comply  with  your  invitation,  without 
involving  myself  in  inconsistency ;  as  I  have  determined  to 
pursue  the  same  plan  in  my  Southern  as  I  did  in  my  Eastern 
visit,  which  was,  not  to  incommode  any  private  family  by 
taking  up  my  quarters  with  them  during  my  journey.  It 
leaves  me  unincumbered  by  engagements,  and  by  a  uniform 
adherence  to  it,  I  shall  avoid  giving  umbrage  to  any,  by  de- 
clining all  such  invitations." 

Washington  remained  at  Mount  Yernon  only  a  week,  mak- 
ing preparations  for  his  Southern  tour.  On  the  4th  of  April 
he  wrote  to  the  several  heads  of  departments — Jefferson,  Ham- 
ilton and  Knox — giving  them  information  concerning  the  time 
when  he  expected  to  be  at  certain  places  on  his  route.  This 
information  was  given  because  the  public  service  might  re- 
quire communication  to  be  made  to  him 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  255 

"My  journey  to  Savannah,"  he  said,  "unless  retarded  by 
mforeseen  interruptions,  will  be  regulated,  including  days  of 
halt,  in  the  following  manner :  I  shall  be,  on  the  8th  of  April 
at  Fredericksburg,  the  llth  at  Richmond,  the  14th  at  Peters- 
burg, the  16th  at  Halifax,  the  18th  at  Tarborough,  the  20th  at 
Newbern,  the  25th  at  "Wilmington,  the  29th  at  Georgetown, 
South  Carolina ;  on  the  2d  of  May  at  Charleston,  halting  there 
five  days;  on  the  llth  at  Savannah,  halting  there  two  days. 
Thence  leaving  the  line  of  mail,  I  shall  proceed  to  Augusta  ; 
and  according  to  the  information  which  I  may  receive  there, 
my  return  by  an  upper  road  will  be  regulated." 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  Washington  was  at  these  various 
places  on  the  very  days  contemplated.  He  wrote  to  Jeffer- 
son from  Richmond  on  the  13th  of  April,  to  Hamilton  from 
Charleston  on  the  7th  of  May,  and  to  Mr.  Seagrove,  collector 
of  the  port  of  St.  Mary,  Georgia,  from  Savannah  on  the  20th. 
He  was  everywhere  received  with  demonstrations  of  the  highest 
respect  and  veneration.  At  Wilmington  he  was  met  by  a  mili- 
tary and  civic  escort,  entertained  at  a  public  dinner,  and  in  the 
evening  attended  a  ball  given  in  his  honor.  At  Newbern  he 
received  like  homage ;  and  when,  on  Monday,  the  2d  day  of 
May,  he  arrived  at  Haddrell's  Point,  a  short  distance  from 
Charleston,  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Cooper  River,  a  twelve- 
oared  barge,  manned  by  thirteen  captains  of  American  ships, 
was  in  readiness  to  receive  him,  and  convey  him  to  the  city. 
The  barge  contained  a  band  of  vocal  and  instrumental  perform- 
ers, and  was  followed  by  a  flotilla  of  richly  decked  boats,  of 
every  kind,  filled  with  gentlemen  and  ladies.  At  the  wharf 
he  was  received  by  Governor  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
and  conducted  to  his  lodgings  by  a  military  and  civic  escort. 


256  MOUNT     VERNON 

On  Monday,  the  9th  of  May,  lie  left  Charleston  for  Savan- 
nah ;  and  on  his  way  from  that  city  a  week  afterward,  he 
stopped  and  dined  with  the  widow  of  General  Greene.  lie 
reached  Augusta  on  the  18th,  and  on  Saturday,  the  21st,  he 
started  for  home,  travelling  by  way  of  Columbia,  Camden, 
Charlotte,  Salisbury,  Salem,  Guilford,  Hillsborough,  Harris- 
burg,  Williamsburg,  and  Fredericksburg,  to  Mount  Vernon. 
He  arrived  home  on  the  12th  of  June,  having  made  a  most 
satisfactory  journey  of  more  than  seventeen  hundred  miles,  in 
sixty-six  days,  with  the  same  team  of  horses.  "  My  return  to 
this  place  is  sooner  than  I  expected,"  he  wrote  to  Hamilton, 
"  owing  to  the  uninterruptedness  of  my  journey  by  sickness, 
from  bad  weather,  or  accidents  of  any  kind  \vhatsoever,"  for 
which  he  had  allowed  eight  days. 

Washington  remained  at  Mount  Vernon  betwjeen  three  and 
four  weeks.  Meanwhile,  he  met  commissioners  at  Georgetown, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  lay  out  the  federal  city,  Washing- 
ton having  selected  as  the  site  the  point  of  land  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Potomac,  between  that  river  and  the  Anacostia,  or 
eastern  branch,  which  flows  eastward  of  the  capitol.  It  is 
related  as  an  historical  fact,  that  in  the  year  1663,  almost  two 
hundred  years  ago,  the  proprietor  of  that  land,  named  Pope, 
marked  out  a  city  upon  it,  called  it  Rome,  named  the  eleva- 
tion on  which  the  capitol  now  stands  (and  where  the  Indian 
tribes  held  their  councils)  the  Capitoline  Hill,  and  the  east 
branch  of  the  Potomac  the  Tiber ! 

Major  L'Enfant,  a  Frenchman,  who  had  served  as  engineer 
in  the  continental  army,  was  employed  to  furnish  a  plan  and 
make  a  survey  of  the  federal  city,  and  he  spent  a  week  at 
Mount  Yernon,  after  Washington's  return  from  his  southern 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  257 

tour,  in  consultation  with  the  President.  His  plans  were  laid 
before  Congress  at  the  next  session,  and  were  approved.  The 
federal  city  was  laid  out  on  a  magnificent  scale,  on  a  plot  con- 
taining eight  square  miles.  The  states  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land had  already  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  territory  ten 
miles  square,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  the  federal  city  within 
it,  and  this  was  named  the  District  of  Columbia. 

L'Enfant  and  the  commissioners  disagreed,  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Andrew  Ellicott,  in  1792.  On  the  2d  of  April  that 
year,  President  Washington  approved  of  a  plan  for  the  capitol, 
submitted  by  Dr.  Thornton,  and  in  September,  1793,  he  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  the  north  wing,  with  Masonic  honors.  The 
commissioners,  without  the  President's  knowledge  or  consent,, 
named  the  federal  metropolis  the  City  of  Washington,  which 
honored  name  it  bears. 

Washington  was  again  at  the  presidential  mansion,  in  Phila- 
delphia, on  the  6th  of  July,  where  he  remained  until  Septem- 
ber, when  he  returned  to  Mount  Vernon,  to  spend  a  few  weeks 
previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  new  Congress.  During  that 
recess  from  official  labors  he  was  part  of  the  time  employed  in 
the  instruction  of  a  new  agent,  Robert  Lewis,  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  estate,  his  nephew,  George  A.  Washington,  having 
been  compelled  to  leave  for  the  mountains  on  account  of  ill 
health.  At  the  same  time  he  carried  on  quite  an  extensive 
correspondence  with  officers'  of  the  government  and  private 
citizens.  Every  post  brought  him  numerous  letters.  An 
Indian  war,  in  the  North-western  territory,  was  in  progress ; 
the  French  Revolution  was  assuming  an  alarming  shape,  for 
the  obligations  of  an  ally  still  appeared  to  rest  upon  the 
United  States,  especially  so  long  as  Louis  remained  king ;  and 
11 


258  MOUNT    VERNON 

domestic  affairs,  pertaining  to  finance  and  commerce,  were 
largely  occupying  the  public  mind.  These  topics  engaged 
Washington's  pen  very  frequently  during  his  weeks  of  rest  at 
Mount  Vernon. 

The  first  session  of  the  second  Congress  opened  on  the  24th 
of  October,  and  on  the  25th  Washington  delivered  his  annual 
message  in  person,  in  the  Congress  Hall,  corner  of  Sixth  and 
Chestnut  streets.  About  two  months  later  he  was  waited 
upon  by  Archibald  Robertson,  a  Scotch  artist  of  considerable 
merit,  who  had  been  induced  to  come  to  the  United  States  to 
practice  his  profession,  by  Doctor  Kemp,  of  Columbia  College, 
New  York. 

Robertson  came  charged  with  an  interesting  commission 
from  the  Earl  of  Buchan.  He  arrived  in  New  York  in  Octo- 
ber, and  in  December  went  to  Philadelphia  to  fulfil  his  special 
engagement.  He  had  been  charged  by  the  Earl  to  deliver  to 
Washington  a  box  made  of  the  celebrated  oak-tree  that  shel- 
tered Sir  William  Wallace  after  the  battle  at  Falkirk.  Ac- 
companying the  box  was  a  letter  from  the  Earl,  dated  at  Dry- 
burgh  Abbey,  Jan.  28, 1791,  in  which,  after  speaking  of  the 
box,  and  his  having  entrusted  it  to  the  "  care  of  Mr.  Robert- 
son, of  Aberdeen,  a  painter,"  he  said  : 

"  This  box  was  presented  to  me  by  the  goldsmiths'  company 
at  Edinburgh,  of  whom — feeling  my  own  unworthiness  to  re- 
ceive this  magnificent  and  significant  present — I  requested,  and 
obtained  leave  to  make  it  over  to  the  man  in  the  world  to 
whom  I  thought  it  most  justly  due ;  into  your  hands  1  commit 
it,  requesting  you  to  pass  it,  in  the  event  of  your  decease,  to 
the  man  in  your  own  country,  who  shall  appear  to  your  judg- 
ment to  merit  it  best,  upon  the  same  considerations  that  have 
induced  me  to  send  it  to  your  Excellency." 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  259 

He  added — 

"  I  beg  your  Excellency  will  have  the  goodness  to  send  me 
your  portrait,  that  I  may  place  it  among  those  I  most  honor, 
and  I  would  wish  it  from  the  pencil  of  Mr.  Robertson." 

Robertson  presented  the  box  to  the  President  on  Friday, 
the  13th  of  December.  He  was  much  embarrassed,  he  said, 
on  being  introduced  to  "the  American  hero,"  but  was  soon 
relieved  by  Washington,  who  entered  into  familiar  conversa- 
tion with  him,  and  introduced  him  to  Mrs.  Washington.  The 
President  also  made  the  painter  happy,  by  consenting  to  sit 
for  his  portrait,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Earl  of 
Buchan.  He  also  invited  Robertson  to  dine  with  him ;  and 
the  painter  felt  quite  at  ease  before  he  left  the  august  presence. 
Of  that  dinner  (a  family  one)  Robertson  thus  writes  : 

"It  was  ready  at  three  o'clock — plain,  but  suitable  for  a 
family  in  genteel  circumstances.  There  was  nothing  specially 
remarkable  at  the  table,  but  that  the  general  and  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington sat  side  by  side,  he  on  the  right  of  his  lady  ;  the  gentle- 
men on  his  right  hand,  and  the  ladies  on  his  left.  It  being  on 
Saturday,  the  first  course  was  mostly  of  eastern  cod  and  fresh 
fish.  A  few  glasses  of  wine  were  drank  during  the  dinner, 
with  other  beverages.  The  whole  closed  with  a  few  glasses 
of  sparkling  champagne,  in  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour, 
when  the  general  and  Colonel  Lear  retired,  leaving  the  ladies 
in  high  glee  about  Lord  Buchan  and  the  Wallace  box." 

After  dinner,  the  President  sat  to  Mr.  Robertson,  for  a  min- 
iature portrait,  and  from  it,  when  finished,  the  artist  painted  a 
larger  picture,  in  oil,  for  Lord  Bnchan,  "  of  a  size,"  he  said, 
"  corresponding  to  the  collection  of  portraits  of  the  most  cele- 
brated worthies  of  liberal  principles  and  of  useful  literature, 


260  MOUNT    VERNON  ' 

in  the  possession  of  his  lordship."  This  picture  was  painted 
at  the  close  of  May,  1792,  when  Washington  wrote  to  Lord 
Buchan,  thanking  him  for  the  present  of  the  box,  and  saying 
of  the  portrait :  "  The  manner  of  the  execution  of  it,  does 
no  discredit,  I  am  told,  to  the  artist."  The  picture  was  sent  to 
Europe  by  Colonel  Lear,  and  Robertson  received  the  thanks 
of  the  Earl  of  Buchan. 

Mrs.  Washington  also  sat  to  Robertson  for  her  miniature. 
She  was  then  sixty  years  of  age,  and  still  beautiful.  Her 
complexion  was  fair,  and  her  dark  eye  was  as  brilliant  as  ever. 
In  person  she  was  heavier  than  in  her  younger  days,  and  was, 
in  a  very  slight  degree,  inclined  to  corpulency.  That  miniature 
is  now  at  Arlington  House.  It  was  first  engraved  for  the 
American  Portrait  Gallery,  about  the  year  1833.  In  a  letter 
to  his  wife,  in  July  of  that  year,  Mr.  Custis  wrote : 

"  I  have  been  requested  to  write  a  short  biography  of  my 
grandmother,  to  be  accompanied  by  a  splendid  engraving  from 
one  of  my  originals,  for  Longman's  work,  called  the  National 
Gallery  of  Portraits,  and  have  consented  to  do  it."  The  biog- 
raphy was  written,  and  the  "  original"  chosen  was  Robertson's 
miniature,  from  which  our  engraving  was  copied. 

In  his  letter  of  thanks  to  Buchan,  Washington  said  : 

"  I  will,  however,  ask,  that  you  will  exempt  me  from  com- 
pliance with  the  request  relating  to  its  eventual  destination. 
In  an  attempt  to  execute  your  wish  in  this  particular,  I  should 
feel  embarrassment  from  a  just  comparison  of  relative  preten- 
sions, and  fear  to  risk  injustice  by  so  marked  a  preference." 

The  box  was  taken  to  Mount  Yernon  at  the  close  of  the 
session,  where  it  remained  until  Washington's  death,  when 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


261 


MARTHA    WASHINGTON. 


lie  recommitted  it  to  the  Earl  by  the  following  clause  in  his 
will: 

"To  the  Earl  of  Buchan  I  recommit  the  box  made  of  the 
oak  that  sheltered  the  great  Sir  William  Wallace,  after  the 
battle  of  Falkirk,  presented  to  me  by  his  lordship,  in  terms  too 
flattering  for  me  to  repeat,  with  a  request  '  to  pass  it,  on  the 
event  of  my  decease,  to  the  man  in  my  country  who  should 
appear  to  merit  it  best,  upon  the  same  conditions  that  have 
induced  him  to  send  it  to  me.'  Whether  easy  or  not  to  select 
the  man  who  might  comport  with  his  lordship's  opinion,  in 
this  respect,  is  not  for  me  to  say ;  but,  conceiving  that  no  dis- 
position of  this  valuable  curiosity  can  be  more  eligible  than 
the  recommitment  of  it  to  his  own  cabinet,  agreeably  to  the 
original  design  of  the  Goldsmith's  Company  of  Edinburgh, 
who  presented  it  to  him,  and,  at  his  request,  consented  that  it 


262  MOUNT    VERNON 

should  be  transferred  to  me,  I  do  give  and  bequeath  the  same 
to  his  lordship ;  and,  in  case  of  his  decease,  to  his  heir,  with 
my  grateful  thanks  for  the  distinguished  honor  of  presenting  it 
to  me,  and  more  especially  for  the  favorable  sentiments  with 
which  he  accompanied  it." 

The  first  session  of  the  second  Congress  terminated  on  Tues- 
day, the  8th  of  May,  and  on  the  10th  Washington  set  out  for 
Mount  Yernon,  leaving  his  family  in  Philadelphia.  He  re- 
mained there  about  four  weeks,  directing  the  affairs  of  his 
estate,  inspecting  the  progress  of  the  surveys  and  plans  for  the 
federal  city,  and  in  correspondence  with  friends  at  home  and 
abroad.  He  carried  home  with  him  on  that  occasion  several 
copies  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  a  work  from  the  pen  of  Thomas 
Paine,  published  the  year  before,  fifty  copies  of  which,  sent  by 
the  author  to  the  President,  reached  him  a  day  or  two  before 
he  left  Philadelphia.  One  of  these  he  gave  to  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  who,  after  thanking  him  for  it,  remarked : 

"  It  is  a  performance  of  which  any  man  might  be  proud ; 
and  I  most  sincerely  regret  that  our  country  could  not  have 
offered  sufficient  inducements  to  have  retained  as  a  permanent 
citizen,  a  man  so  thoroughly  republican  in  sentiment,  and 
fearless  in  the  expression  of  his  opinions." 

In  his  letter  accompanying  the  books,  Paine  remarked : 

"  The  work  has  had  a  run  beyond  any  thing  that  has  been 
published  in  this  country  on  the  subject  of  government,  and 
the  demand  continues.  In  Ireland  it  has  had  a  much  greater. 
A  letter  I  received  from  Dublin,  10th  of  May,  mentioned  that 
the  fourth  edition  was  then  on  sale.  I  know  not  what  number 
of  copies  were  printed  at  each  edition,  except  the  second, 
which  was  ten  thousand.  The  same  fate  follows  me  here  as  I 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  263 

at  first  experienced  in  America — strong  friends  and  violent 
enemies ;  but  as  I  have  got  the  ear  of  the  country,  I  shall  go 
on,  and  at  least  show  them,  what  is  a  novelty  here,  that  there 
can  be  a  person  beyond  the  reach  of  corruption." 

This  work  was  written  in  answer  to  Edmund  Burke's  famous 
letter  to  a  French  gentleman,  in  1790,  entitled  Reflections  on 
the  Revolution  in  France.  The  government,  incensed  at 
Paine's  language  in  the  Rights  of  Man,  instituted  a  prosecu- 
tion against  him  for  libel.  He  went  to  France,  became  a 
member  of  the  National  Assembly,  fell  into  prison  during  the 
reign  of  the  Terrorists,  and  becoming  offended  at  Washington 
because  he  properly  refused  his  official  aid  in  procuring 
Paine's  liberation,  on  the  ground  of  his  being  an  American 
citizen,  he  abused  him  most  shamefully  in  a  published  letter, 
more  remarkable  for  its  scurrility  than  talent. 

Washington  returned  to  Philadelphia  early  in  June,  and 
toward  the  close  of  July  journeyed  with  his  family  to  Mount 
Vernon.  He  remained  there  until  early  in  October,  when  he 
returned  to  Philadelphia,  with  his  family,  to  prepare  for  the 
assembling  of  the  Congress,  which  took  place  on  the  5th  of 
November.  During  that  time  he  was  in  frequent  correspond- 
ence with  the  heads  of  departments,  for  matters  of  great  public 
interest  required  frequent  communications  between  them  and 
the  chief  magistrate.  An  Indian  war  in  the  west  was  then  in 
progress,  and  symptoms  of  insurrectionary  movements  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  on  account  of  an  excise  law  which  the  people 
deemed  oppressive,  began  to  appear. 

Washington  was  also  much  engaged,  during  that  time,  with 
his  agricultural  operations;  and  he  and  Mrs.  Washington 
were  much  distressed  on  account  of  the  mortal  sickness  of  his 


264 

nephew  George,  who  had  resided  at  Mount  Vernon  much  of 
the  time  since  his  marriage  several  years  before.  Washing- 
ton's anxiety  concerning  him  is  evinced  by  the  frequent  men- 
tion of  his  illness  to  his  correspondents.  In  a  letter  to  Lafay- 
ette, in  June,  he  said : 

"  ^>am  afraid  my  nephew  George,  your  old  aide,  will  never 
have  his  health  perfectly  re-established.  He  has  lately  been 
attacked  with  the  alarming  symptoms  of  spitting  large  quan- 
tities of  blood ;  and  the  physicians  give  no  hopes  of  resto- 
ration, unless  it  can  be  effected  by  a  change  of  air,  and  a 
total  dereliction  from  business,  to  which  he  is  too  anxiously 
attentive.  He  will,  if  he  should  be  taken  from  his  family  and 
friends,  leave  three  fine  children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  To 
the  eldest  of  the  boys  he  has  given  the  name  of  Fayette,  and 
a  fine  looking  child  he  is. 

To  General  Roux,  he  wrote :  "  I  thank  you  most  sincere- 
ly for  the  medicine  you  were  so  obliging  as  to  send  for  my 
nephew,  and  for  the  sympathetic  feeling  you  express  for  his 
situation.  Poor  fellow  !  neither,  I  believe,  will  be  of  any  avail. 
Present  appearances  indicate  a  speedy  dissolution.  He  has  not 
been  able  to  leave  his  bed,  except  for  a  few  moments  to  sit  in 
an  arm-chair,  since  the  14th  or  15th  of  last  month.  The  par- 
oxysm of  the  disorder  seems  to  be  upon  him,  and  death,  or 
a  favorable  turn  to  it,  must  speedily  follow." 

The  sufferer  was  then  residing  upon  a  small  estate  in  Han- 
.over.  He  lingered  for  several  weeks,  and  expired  ;  and  on  the 
24th  of  February,  Washington  wrote  to  his  widow : 

"  MY  DEAR  FANNY  :  To  you,  who  so  well  know  the  affec- 
tionate regard  I  had  for  our  departed  friend,  it  is  unnecessary 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  265 

to  describe  the  sorrow  with  which  I  was  afflicted,  at  the  news 
of  his  death,  although  it  was  an  event  I  had  expected  many 
weeks  before  it  happened.  To  express  this  sorrow  with  the 
force  I  feel  it,  would  answer  no  other  purpose  than  to  revive 
in  your  breast  that  poignancy  of  anguish,  which  by  this  time, 
I  hope,  is  abated.  The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  convey  to 
your  mind  the  warmest  assurance  of  my  love,  friendship,  and 
disposition  to  serve  you.  These  I  also  profess  to  bear,  in  an 
eminent  degree,  for  your  children." 

He  then  invites  her  to  make  Mount  Yernon  the  home  of 
herself  and  children.  "You  can  go  to  no  place,"  he  said, 
"  where  you  will  be  more  welcome,  nor  to  any  where  you  can 
live  at  less  expense  or  trouble."  He  then  invites  her  to  bring 
his  niece,  Harriet  Washington,  with  her,  to  Mount  Yernon, 
of  whose  conduct  he  had  heard  pleasant  words.  Miss  Harriet 
remained  at  Mount  Yernon  a  long  time,  the  grateful  recipient 
of  her  uncle's  bounty. 

The  young  widow  appears  to  have  declined  the  offer  of  a 
home  at  Mount  Yernon,  preferring  to  keep  house  in  Alexan- 
dria, but  offering  to  resign  the  charge  of  her  eldest  son,  Fay- 
ette,  into  Washington's  keeping.  In  March,  the  President 
wrote  to  her,  saying : 

"The  carriage  which  I  sent  to  Mount  Yernon,  for  your  use, 
I  never  intended  to  reclaim,  and  now,  making  you  a  formal 
present  of  it,  it  may  be  sent  for  whenever  it  suits  your  conve- 
nience, and  be  considered  as  your  own.  I  shall,  when  I  see  you, 
request  that  Fayette  may  be  given  up  to  me,  either  at  that 
time,  or  as  soon  after  as  he  is  old  enough  to  go  to  school.  This 
will  relieve  you  of  that  portion  of  attention,  which  his  educa- 
tion would  otherwise  call  for." 


266  MOUNT    VERNON 

Washington's  affection  for  children  was  very  great,  and  he 
was  ever  anxious  to  have  young  people  in  the  mansion  at 
Mount  Yernon.  He  enjoyed  their  amusements  with  a  keen 
relish,  and  yet  the  mysterious  awe  felt  in  his  presence,  by  all 
who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him  personally,  was  expe- 
rienced by  children.  His  adopted  daughter  (Mrs.  Lewis) 
used  to  say  that  she  had  seen  him  laugh  heartily  at  her  merry 
pranks,  or  when,  a  gay,  joyous  girl,  she  would  give  him  a 
description  of  some  scene  in  which  she  had  taken  a  part ; 
and  yet  she  had  as  often  seen  him  retire  from  the  room  in 
which  her  young  companions  were  amusing  themselves,  be- 
cause he  perceived  that  his  presence  created  a  reserve  which 
they  could  not  overcome. 

His  love  for  his  two  adopted  children  was  very  strong,  and 
he  watched  over  their  mental  and  moral  development  with 
great  solicitude.  In  several  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Lear,  from 
Mount  Yernon,  in  the  autumn  of  1790,  when  preparing  for  his 
residence  in  Philadelphia,  he  mentioned  the  subject  of  schools, 
expressing  a  great  desire  to  have  young  Custis  placed  in  one 
of  ilie  best  character. 

Mrs.  Washington  was  always  over-indulgent  to  her  two 
grandchildren.  The  boy  (George  Washington  Parke  Custis) 
was  always  familiarly  called  Washington,  and  by  that  name 
he  was  always  distinguished  in  the  general's  private  corre- 
spondence. His  beautiful  sister,  Nelly,  used  to  speak  of  the 
affection  which  Mrs.  Washington  lavished  upon  him,  and  the 
many  excuses  which  she  offered  in  his  defence,  when  the  father, 
true  to  his  nature  and  education,  exacted  submission  to  the 
most  thorough  discipline  on  all  occasions,  much  as  he  loved 
the  boy. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  267 

"  Grandmamma  always  spoiled  Washington,"  his  sister 
would  say ;  and  his  daughter,  in  a  late  memoir  of-  him,  has 
said — "  He  was  the  pride  of  her  heart,  while  the  public  duties 
of  the  veteran  prevented  the  exercise  of  his  influence  in  form- 
ing the  character  of  the  boy,  too  softly  nurtured  under  his 
roof,  and  gifted  with  talents,  which,  under  a  sterner  discipline, 
might  have  been  more  available  for  his  own  and  his  coun- 
try's good." 

Notwithstanding  her  indulgent  disposition,  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton was  a  thorough  disciplinarian  in  her  household,  and  Nelly 
Custis  experienced  many  a  tearful  hour  when  compelled  by 
her  grandmother  to  attend  assiduously  to  her  studies  in  letters 
and  music.  Washington  made  her  a  present  of  a  fine  harpsi- 
chord, at  the  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars — Schroeder's  beau- 
tiful invention,  the  piano-forte,  not  being  then  much  used 
in  America.  In  England,  even,  where  Zumpe  had  introduced 
it,  with  many  improvements,  between  twenty  and  thirty  years 
before,  the  piano  had  by  no  means  supplanted  its  parent  the 
harpsichord,  and  the  latter  instrument,  or  the  spinet,  might 
be  found  in  almost  every  family  of  wealth  in  the  kingdom. 

The  best  teachers  were  employed  to  instruct  Nelly  in  the  use 
of  the  harpsichord,  and  her  grandmother  made  her  practise 
upon  it  four  or  five  hours  every  day.  "  The  poor  girl,"  says 
her  brother,  the  late  Mr.  Custis,  "  would  play  and  cry,  and  cry 
and  play,  for  long  hours,  under  the  immediate  eye  of  her 
grandmother,  a  rigid  disciplinarian  in  all  things." 

That  harpsichord,  according  to  the  inscription  upon  a  plate 
above  the  keys,  was  manufactured  by  "  Longman  and  Brode- 
rip,  musical  instrument  makers,  No.  26  Cheapside,  and  No. 
13  Haymarket,  London."  It  was  carefully  packed  and  taken 


268 


MOUNT    VEHNON 


to  Mount  Vernon  when  Washington  retired  from  office  the 
last  time.  It  was  used  there  until  his  death,  for  Nelly 
and  her  husband  resided  at  Mount  Vernon  for  more  than 


NELLY    CUHTIS'S    HARPSICHORD. 


a  year  after  their  marriage  in  February,  1?T9.  It  is  now 
(1859)  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Lee,  of  Arlington  House.,  who 
intends  to  present  it  to  the  Mount  Vernon  Ladies'  Associa- 
tion, when  the  home  of  "Washington  shall  have  passed  into 
their  absolute  possession,  that  it  may  take  its  ancient  place  in 
the  parlor  of  the  hallowed  mansion. 

The  instrument  was  one  of  the  most  elegant  of  its  kind.     It 
is  about  eight,  feet  long,  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  three 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATION'S.  269 

feet  in  length,  with  two  banks,  containing  one  hundred  and 
twenty  keys  in  all.  The  case  is  mahogany. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1793,  Judge  Gushing,  of  Massachu- 
setts, administered  to  Washington,  in  the  senate  chamber,  in 
Philadelphia,  the  oath  of  office  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  having  been,  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  electoral 
college,  speaking  the  will  of  the  people,  re-elected  to  the 
exalted  station  of  chief  magistrate.  It  was  with  great  reluc- 
tance that  he  consented  to  serve  another  prescribed  term  of 
four  years.  He  had  looked  forward  lo  retirement  from  office 
vvith  real  pleasure,  and  when  he  agreed  to  serve  his  country 
still  longer,  he  endured  a  sacrifice  which  none  bat  a  disinterested 
patriot  could  have  made.  For  himself  he  preferred  the  quiet 
of  domestic  life  at  his  pleasant  home  on  the  Potomac,  to  all 
the  honors  and  emoluments  ^that  the  world  could  offer.  But 
in  this  instance,  as  in  all  others,  he  yielded  his  own  wishes  to 
the  more  important  demands  of  his  country.  He  knew,  as 
well  as  any  man  living,  the  dangers  to  which  the  coun- 
try was  then  exposed  from  the  influence  of  French  politics  and 
of  domestic  factions ;  and  the  representations  of  the  true  friends 
of  government  convinced  him  that  his  further  service  in  public 
life  was  demanded  by  every  consideration  of  patriotism. 

Hamilton,  in  whose  judgment  and  purity  of  motives  Wash- 
ington had  the  most  entire  confidence,  had  urged  him,  in  a 
touching  letter,  to  accept  the  high  office  a  second  term;  and 
while  his  cabinet  was  agitated  by  discordant  opinions  upon 
other  subjects,  they  all  agreed  that  Washington's  retirement 
from  office  at  that  time  would  be  a  serious  calamity  to  the 
country.  Every  one  felt  that  the  affairs  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment were  not  yet  firmly  established ;  that  its  enemies 


2TO  MOUNT    VERNON 

were  many  and  inveterate,  and  that  Washington  could  not 
retire  without  damaging  his  reputation  as  a  patriot.  "  I  trust, 
sir,  and  I  pray  God,  that  you  will  determine  to  make  a  further 
sacrifice  of  your  tranquillity  and  happiness  to  the  public  good," 
said  Hamilton,  at  the  close  of  his  letter  just  alluded  to. 

Such  sacrifice  was  made,  and  for  four  years  longer  Mount 
Yernon  was  without  its  master,  except  at  long  intervals. 

Although  Washington's  second  inauguration  was  in  public, 
there  was  far  less  parade  than  at  the  first.  It  had  been  deter- 
mined by  those  with  whom  he  had  consulted  respecting  the 
matter,  as  the  democratic  feeling  was  very  strong,  that  the 
President  should  go  to  the  senate-chamber  "without  form, 
attended  by  such  gentlemen  as  he  may  choose,  and  return 
without  form,  except  that  he  be  preceded  by  the  marshal." 

Thus  he  went  and  thus  he  returned,  conveyed  in  his  own 
beautiful  cream-colored  coach,  drawn  by  six  splendid  bay 
horses.  And  thus  he  went  to  that  senate-chamber  a  few 
months  later,  when  he  presented  his  annual  message  to  the 
Congress,  for  in  those  days  the  President  read  the  address 
before  the  assembled  wisdom  of  the  nation,  and  did  not,  as 
now,  send  it  in  manuscript  by  his  private  secretary. 

An  eye-witness  on  one  of  these  occasions  has  left  a  pleasant 
picture  of  it  on  record.  "As  the  President  alighted,"  he  says, 
"  and,  ascending  the  steps,  paused  upon  the  platform,  looking 
over  his  shoulder,  in  an  attitude  that  would  have  furnished  an 
admirable  subject  for  the  pencil,  he  was  preceded  by  two  gen- 
tlemen bearing  long  white  wands,  who  kept  back  the  eager 
crowd  that  pressed  on  every  side  to  get  a  nearer  view.  At 
that  moment  I  stood  so  near  that  I  might  have  touched  his 
clothes ;  but  I  should  as  soon  have  thought  of  touching  an 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  271 

electric  battery.  I  was  penetrated  with  a  veneration  amount- 
ing to  the  deepest  awe.  Nor  was  this  the  feeling  of  a  school- 
boy only ;  it  pervaded,  I  believe,  every  human  being  that 
approached  Washington ;  and  I  have  been  told  that,  even  in 
his  social  and  convivial  hours,  this  feeling  in  those  who  were 
honored  to  share  them  never  suffered  intermission.  I  saw  him 
a  hundred  times  afterward,  but  never  with  any  other  than  that 
same  feeling.  The  Almighty,  who  raised  up  for  our  hour  of 
need  a  man  so  peculiarly  prepared  for  its  whole  dread  respon- 
sibility, seems  to  have  put  an  impress  of  sacredness  upon  His 
own  instrument.  The  first  sight  of  the  man  struck  the  heart 
with  involuntary  homage,  and  prepared  every  thing  around 
him  to  obey.  When  he  '  addressed  himself  to  speak,'  there 
was  an  unconscious  suspension  of  the  breath,  while  every  eye 
was  raised  in  expectation. 

"  The  President,  having  seated  himself,  remained  in  silence, 
serenely  contemplating  the  legislature  before  him,  whose  mem- 
bers now  resumed  their  seats,  waiting  for  the  speech.  No 
house  of  worship,  in  the  most  solemn  pauses  of  devotion,  was 
ever  more  profoundly  still  than  that  large  and  crowded 
chamber. 

"Washington  was  dressed  precisely  as  Stuart  has  painted 
him  in  Lord  Lansdowne's  full-length  portrait — in  a  full  suit 
of  the  richest  black  velvet,  with  diamond  knee-buckles,  and 
square  silver  buckles  set  upon  shoes  japanned  with  the  most 
scrupulous  neatness,  black  silk  stockings,  his  shirt  ruffled  at 
the  breast  and  wrists,  a  light  dress-sword,  his  hair  profusely 
powdered,  fully  dressed,  so  as  to  project  at  the  sides,  and 
gathered  behind  in  a  silk  bag,  ornamented  with  a  large  rose  of 
black  riband.  He  held  his  cocked  hat,  which  had  a  large 


272  MOUNT    VERNON 

black  cockade  on  one  side  of  it,  in  his  hand,  as  he  advanced 
toward  the  chair,  and.  when  seated,  laid  it  on  the  table. 

"At  length,  thrusting  his  hand  within  the  side  of  his  coat, 
he  drew  forth  a  roll  of  manuscript,  which  he  opened,  and 
rising,  held  it  in  his  hand,  while  in  a  rich,  deep,  full,  sonorous 
voice,  he  read  his  opening  address  to  Congress.  His  enun- 
ciation was  deliberate,  justly  emphasized,  very  distinct,  and 
accompanied  with  an  air  of  deep  solemnity,  as  being  the 
utterance  of  a  mind  profoundly  impressed  with  the  dignity  of 
the  act  in  which  it  was  occupied,  conscious  of  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility of  its  position  and  action,  but  not  oppressed  by  it." 

Washington  made  a  hurried  visit  to  Mount  Vernon  in  April, 
on  account  of  the  death  of  his  nephew,  already  mentioned, 
some  matter  connected  with  that  young  man's  aifairs  requiring 
his  personal  attention,  lie  was  again  called  to  Mount  Yernon 
at  the  close  of  June,  on  account  of  the  sudden  death  of  Mr. 
Whiting,  his  manager,  who  had  taken  the  place  of  Robert 
Lewis.  "It  was  a  critical  season,"  says  Washington,  in  a 
letter  to  General  Henry  Lee,  "  for  the  business  \vith  which  he 
was  interested.  How  to  supply  his  place  I  know  not;  of 
course  my  concerns  at  Mount  Vernon  are  left  as  a  body 
without  a  head." 

Notwithstanding  Congress  was  not  in  session,  the  pressure 
of  public  business  was  such  that  Washington  remained  at  the 
seat  of  government  all  through  the  summer,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  yellow  fever,  which  broke  out  in  Philadelphia  in 
August,  had  raged  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  the  officers  of 
government  had  fled,  that  he  left  his  post  and  retired  to  Mount 
Vernon.  He  left  Philadelphia  on  the  10th  of  September.  He 
would  have  remained  longer,  but  Mrs.  Washington,  alarmed 


AND    ITS.  ASSOCIATIONS.  273 

for  the  safety  of  the  whole  family,  the  house  in  which  they 
lived  being  in  a  manner  blockaded  by  the  disorder,  prevailed 
on  him  to  leave. 

The  fever  raged  with  great  violence  until  late  in  October,, 
when  frosts  checked  its  progress,  and  in  November  the  inhab- 
itants who  had  fled  from  the  pestilence  generally  returned  to 
the  city.  On  the  2d  day  of  December  Congress  was  convened 
there. 

The  progress  of  the  disease  at  Philadelphia  was  watched  by 
Washington,  at  Mount  Vernon,  with  great  solicitude,  espec- 
ially w hen  September  had  passed  away,  and  much  of  October 
had  gone  by,  before  it  abated.  It  was  near  the  time  set  for 
the  assembling  of  a  new  Congress,  and  the  public  welfare 
demanded  legislative  action,  upon  important  points,  as  early 
as  possible.  He  therefore  proposed  to  call  the  Congress 
together  at  Germantown,  or  some  other  place  near  Philadel- 
phia, but  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  pestilence ;  and  yet  he 
doubted  his  power  to  do  so.  This  topic  employed  his  pen  as 
well  as  his  thoughts,  and  of  many  letters  from  Mount  Vernon 
it  was  the  burden. 

His  agricultural  affairs  occupied  much  of  his  time  while 
at  home.  He  appears  to  have  found  a  manager  not  much  to 
his  liking,  for  he  needed  instruction.  At  the  middle  of 
October  we  find  him  writing  to  his  friend,  General  Henry 
Lee,  concerning  a  threshing-machine  that  that  gentleman  had 
recommended.  He  seemed  anxious  to  use  all  really  useful 
improvements,  but  the  difficulty  in  making  his  overseers 
understand  them  was  a  bar. 

"  The  model  [of  a  threshing  machine]  brought  over  by  the 
English  farmers,"  he  said,  "  may  also  be  a  good  one,  but  the 
18 


274  MOUNT    VERNON 

utility  of  it  among  careless  negroes  and  ignorant  overseers  will 
depend  absolutely  upon  the  simplicity  of  the  construction ;  for 
if  there  is  any  thing  complex  in  the  machinery,  it  will  be  no 
longer  in  use  than  a  mushroon  is  in  existence.  I  have  seen  so 
much  of  the  beginning  and  ending  of  new  inventions,  that  I 
have  almost  resolved  to  go  on  in  the  old  way  of  treading 
until  I  get  settled  again  at  home,  and  can  attend,  myself,  to  the 
management  of  one.  As  a  proof  in  point  of  the  almost  impos- 
sibility of  putting  the  overseers  of  this  country  out  of  the  track 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  walk  in,  I  have  one  of  the  most 
convenient  barns  in  this  or  perhaps  any  other  country,  where 
thirty  hands  may  with  great  ease  be  employed  in  threshing. 
Half  of  the  wheat  of  the  farm  was  actually  stowed  in  this  barn 
in  the  straw  by  my  order,  for  threshing;  notwithstanding, 
when  I  came  home  about  the  middle  of  September,  I  found  a 
treading-yard  not  thirty  feet  from  the  barn-door,  the  wheat 
again  brought  out  of  the  barn,  and  horses  treading  it  out  in  an 
open  exposure,  liable  to  the  vicissitudes  of  weather." 

Washington  and  his  family  set  out  for  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment toward  the  close  of  October.  Mr.  Dandridge,  a  relation 
of  his  wife,  who  had  been  appointed  the  President's  'private 
secretary,  accompanied  them.  Philadelphia  presented  a  most 
gloomy  aspect.  Between  three  and  four  thousand  of  the  in- 
habitants had  fallen  before  the  scythe  of  the  pestilence,  and 
there  was  mourning  in  almost  every  family.  There  was  very 
little  gayety  in  the  capital  during  the  session  of  Congress  that 
followed.  There  was  also  a  general  expectation  that  the 
scourge  would  reappear  the  ensuing  summer  of  1794 ;  and 
when,  at  the  middle  of  June,  Washington  made  a  flying  visit 
to  Mount  Yernon,  he  removed  his  family  to  a  pleasant  resi- 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  275 

dencc  at  Germantown,  about  six  miles  from  the  city.  To  that 
place  he  returned  at  the  close  of  July,  and  he  seems  not  to 
have  visited  Mount  Vernon  again  until  April  the  following 
year,  when  he  was  there  for  only  a  short  time,  to  give  his  per- 
sonal attention  to  home  duties  that  required  them.  He  again 
visited  his  home  early  in  July,  1795,  but,  as  his  correspond- 
ence on  the  way  and  at  Mount  Yernon  shows,  he  carried  a 
vast  weight  of  public  business  upon  his  mind ;  for,  besides 
the  routine  of  official  duties,  he  was  greatly  burdened 
with  anxiety  respecting  a  treaty  lately  made  with  England, 
by  John  Jay,  which  lie  approved,  and  which  for  a  time  was 
so  unpopular  as  to  cause  great  excitement  throughout  the 
country. 

Washington  left  Mount  Yernon  again  toward  the  middle  of 
August  for  the  seat  of  government,  and  returned  early  in  Sep- 
tember. He  remained  until  the  12th  of  October,  when  he  set 
out  for  Philadelphia,  stopping  at  Georgetown  for  a  day  to 
attend  to  business  with  the  commissioners  of  the  federal  city. 

It  was  not  until  June,  1Y96,  that  the  master  of  Mount  Yer- 
non was  again  under  his  own  roof.  His  family  accompanied 
him ;  and  there,  at  the  beginning  of  July,  they  received  as  a 
guest,  Don  Carlos  Martinez,  Marquis  d'Yrugo,  the  newly- 
arrived  Spanish  ambassador.  On  the  4th  of  July  Washington 
wrote  to  Timothy  Pickering,  the  secretary  of  state,  saying  : 

"  The  Spanish  Minister,  M.  d'Yrugo,  spent  two  days  with 
me,  and  is  just  gone.  I  caused  it  to  be  intimated  to  him  that, 
as  I  should  be  absent  from  the  seat  of  the  government  until 
the  middle  or  latter  end  of  August,  I  was  ready  to  receive  his 
letter  of  credence  at  this  place.  He  answered,  as  I  understood 
it,  that  his  credentials  were  with  his  baggage  on  its  passage  to 


276  MOUNT    VERNON 

Philadelphia,  and  that  his  reception  at  that  place,  at  the  time 
mentioned,  would  be  perfectly  convenient  and  agreeable  to 
himself.  He  is  a  young  man,  very  free  and  easy  in  his  man- 
ners, professes  to  be  well  disposed  toward  the  United  States, 
and,  as  far  as  a  judgment  can  be  formed  on  so  short  an  ac- 
quaintance, appears  to  be  well  informed." 

The  Spanish  minister  had  not  been  long  in  Philadelphia 
when  he  became  enamored  .of  Salty,  the  beautiful  daughter  of 
Thomas  M'Kean,  the  chief-justice  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they 
were  married.  Their  son,  the  Duke  of  Sotomayer,  who  was 
born  m  Philadelphia,  became  prime  minister  of  Spain. 

"Philadelphia,"  says  Griswold,  "furnished  wives  for  the 
envoys  of  France,  England,  and  Spain  during  Washington's 
administration,  and  a  large  number  of  foreign  ministers  have 
since  been  married  to  American  women."  Genet,  the  French 
minister  during  Washington's  first  term,  married  a  daughter 
of  Governor  Clinton,  of  New  York. 

Washington  remained  at  Mount  Vernon  until  the  middle  of 
August.  During  the  time  of  this  visit  to  his  dearly-loved 
home,  he  completed  the  final  draft  of  his  Farewell  Address  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  prepared  in  contemplation  of 
his  retiring  from  public  life  forever,  at  the  close  of  his  term  of 
office  the  ensuing  spring.  That  address  had  been  the  subject 
of  deep  and  anxious  thought  for  many  months,  and  at  the 
special  request  of  the  President,  Hamilton,  Jay,  and  Madison, 
and  perhaps  others,  had  given  him  suggestions  in  writing, 
topical  and  verbal.  These  he  took  with  him  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, and  in  the  quiet  of  his  library  he  arranged  his  address  in 
the  form  and  expression  in  which  it  was  published  in  Septem- 
ber following.  It  was  the  noblest  production  of  Washington's 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  277 

mind  and  heart,  and  has  been  pronounced  by  Alison,  the 
eminent  British  historian,  unequalled  by  any  composition  of 
uninspired  wisdom.  It  is  a  political  legacy  which  not  only 
the  countrymen  of  Washington,  but  the  world  ought  to  value, 
as  one  of  the  most  precious  gifts  ever  bestowed  by  man  upon 
his  race.  It  is  permeated  with  the  immortal  spirit  of  a  true 
MAN,  a  true  PATRIOT,  and  a  true  CHRISTIAN. 

The  Farewell  Address  was  published  in  the  Philadelphia 
Advertiser,  in  September,  1796,  and  produced  a  most  profound 
sensation.  The  ribald  voice  of  party  spirit,  which  had  been 
for  a  long  time  uttering  the  most  scandalous  abuse  concerning 
the  President,  was  at  once  subdued  in  tone,  if  not  silenced,  for 
it  was  deprived  of  the  theme  of  Washington's  renomination, 
which  had  been  a  convenient  excuse  for  partisan  attacks.  The 
address  was  entered  at  length  upon  the  journals  of  several  of 
the  state  legislatures ;  was  published  in  every  newspaper  in 
the  land,  and  in  many  of  those  in  foreign  countries ;  and  in 
legislative  bodies  and  social  and  diplomatic  circles  abroad,  it 
was  a  fruitful  topic  of  remark  for  some  time.  Of  all  the  asso- 
ciations which  cluster  around  Mount  Yernon,  none  should  be 
dearer  to  the  heart  of  every  American — to  every  friend  of 
freedom  and  good  order — than  that  connected  with  WASHING- 
TON'S FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

And  now  Washington  calmly  looked  forward  to  his  retire- 
ment from  public  life  with  a  heart  full  of  joy  and  gratitude. 
The  eight  years  of  his  administration  of  public  affairs  had  been 
years  of  immense  toil,  anxiety,  and  vexation.  They  had  been 
stormy  years,  for  blasts  of  disturbing  and  dangerous  sentiments 
came  frequently  from  the  borders  of  the  hurricane  that  swept 
so  terribly  over  France,  the  old  ally  of  the  United  States ;  and 


278  MOUNT    VERNON 

the  electric  forces  of  party  spirit,  subtle  and  implacable,  had 
cast  down,  from  the  black  clouds  of  selfish  hate,  a  copious 
hail  of  abuse.  But  amid  all  that  storm — in  the  face  of  those 
fierce  blasts  and  that  pelting  hail,  Washington  stood  calm, 
dignified,  and  unharmed ;  and  he  approached  the  hour  when 
he  should  be  no  longer  a  public  servant,  to  be  applauded  or 
reviled,  with  that  serenity  of  mind  which  nothing  but  a  con- 
science void  of  offence  toward  God  and  man  can  impart.  And 
yet  he  was  not  always  unmoved  by  the  ungenerous  attacks  of 
his  enemies.  To  his  long-tried  and  dearly-loved  friend,  Gen- 
eral Knox,  then  in  the  far  east,  he  wrote,  two  days  before  his 
retirement : 

"  To  the  wearied  traveller  who  sees  a  resting-place,  and  is 
bending  his  body  to  lean  thereon,  I  now  compare  myself ;  but 
to  be  suffered  to  do  this  in  peace  is  too  much  to  be  endured  by 
some.  To  misrepresent  my  motives,  to  reprobate  my  politics, 
and  to  weaken  the  confidence  which  has  been  reposed  in  my 
administration,  are  objects  wrhich  cannot  be  relinquished  by 
those  who  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a  change  in 
our  political  system.  The  consolation,  however,  which  results 
from  conscious  rectitude,  and  the  approving  voice  of  my  coun- 
try, unequivocally  expressed  by  its  representatives,  deprive 
their  sting  of  its  poison,  and  place  in  the  same  point  of  view 
the  weakness  and  malignity  of  their  efforts." 

Never  since  has  the  unscrupulous  virulence  of  party  spirit 
been  so  manifest  as  at  the  time  in  question.  No  one  dared 
openly  to  charge  "Washington  with  a  dishonest  or  dishonorable 
act,  during  his  long  public  life;  and  yet,  by  inuendos  and  false- 
hoods of  the  darkest  aspect,  disguised  as  insinuations,  his  po- 
litical enemies  attempted  to  destroy  his  popularity,  and  to 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  279 

send  him  into  private  life  without  the  sweet  consolations  of 
the  approval  of  his  countrymen. 

One  specimen  of  the  venom  of  party  hate  will  be  sufficient 
to  illustrate  the  remarks  just  made.  I  quote  from  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  Aurora,  a  Philadelphia  paper  in  opposition  to 
Washington's  administration.  The  number  containing  the  fol- 
lowing article  was  printed  three  days  after  the  President's 
retirement  from  office : 

" '  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,'  was  the  pious  ejaculation 
of  a  man  who  beheld  a  flood  of  happiness  rushing  upon  man- 
kind. If  ever  there  was  a  time  that  would  license  the  reitera- 
tion of  the  exclamation,  that  time  is  now  arrived  ;  for  the  man 
who  is  the  source  of  all  the  misfortunes  of  our  country,  is  this 
day  reduced  to  a  level  with  his  fellow-citizens,  and  is  no  longer 
possessed  of  power  to  multiply  evils  upon  the  United  States. 
If  ever  there  was  a  period  for  rejoicing,  this  is  the  moment ; 
every  heart  in  unison  with  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  the 
people,  ought  to  beat  high  with  exultation  that  the  name  of 
WASHINGTON,  from  this  day,  ceases  to  give  a  currency  to  polit- 
ical iniquity,  and  to  legalize  corruption.  A  new  era  is  now 
opening  upon  us,  an  era  which  promises  much  to  the  people ; 
for  public  measures  must  now  stand  upon  their  own  merits, 
and  nefarious  projects  can  no  longer  be  supported  by  a  name. 
When  a  retrospect  is  taken  of  the  Washingtonian  administra- 
tion for  eight  years,  it  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  astonishment 
that  a  single  individual  should  have  cankered  the  principles  of 
republicanism  in  an  enlightened  people,  just  emerged  from 
the  gulf  of  despotism,  and  should  have  carried  his  designs 
against  the  public  liberty  so  far,  as  to  have  put  in  jeopardy  its 


280  MOUNT    VERNON 

very  existence.  Sucli  however  are  the  facts,  and  with  these 
staring  us  in  the  face,  this  day  ought  to  be  a  JUBILEE  in  the 
United  States." 

How  utterly  impotent  were  such  attempts  to  injure  the 
character  of  Washington,  let  history  testify. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1797,  Washington  gave  a  farewell 
dinner,  to  which  many  of  the  leading  persons  at  the  seat  of 
government  were  invited.  These  were  chiefly  the  officers  of 
government  and  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  with  their 
wives.  Bishop  White,  whose  sister  was  the  wife  of  Robert  Morris, 
was  present,  and  described  some  of  the  events  of  the  banquet. 

"  During  the  dinner,"  wrote  the  bishop,  "  much  hilarity  pre- 
vailed ;  but  on  the  removal  of  the  cloth,  it  was  put  an  end  to 
by  the  President — certainly  without  design.  Having  filled  his 
glass,  he  addressed  the  company,  with  a  smile  on  his  coun- 
tenance, saying,  '  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  is  the  last  time  I 
shall  drink  your  health  as  a  public  man.  I  do  it  with  sin- 
cerity, and  wishing  you  all  possible  happiness.'  There  was  an 
end  to  all  hilarity ;  and  the  cheeks  of  Mrs.  Liston,  wife  of  the 
British  minister,  were  wet  with  tears." 

On  the  following  day  John  Adams,  who  had  been  elected 
Washington's  successor,  was  inaugurated  the  second  President 
of  the  United  States.  The  event  took  place  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Representatives,  which  was  densely  crowded  with  spectators. 
At  the  appointed  hour  Washington  rode  to  Congress  Hail  in 
his  coach,  drawn  by  six  horses,  and,  amidst  the  most  enthusi- 
astic cheers,  entered  the  room  prepared  for  the  ceremonies  which 
were  to  release  him  from  public  life.  He  was  followed  by  Mr. 
Adams,  and  when  they  were  seated,  perfect  silence  prevailed. 
Washington  then  arose,  and  with  the  most  commanding  dig- 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  281 

nity  and  self-control,  introduced  Mr.  Adams  to  the  assembly, 
and  proceeded  to  read,  in  a  firm,  clear  voice,  a  brief  valedictory. 
"The  most  profound  silence  greeted  him,"  says  a  still  living 
eye  and  ear  witness  of  the  august  event,  "  as  if  the  great 
assembly  desired  to  hear  him  breathe,  and  catch  his  breath  in 
homage  of  their  hearts.  Mr.  Adams  covered  his  face  with 

o 

both  his  hands;  the  sleeves  of  his  coat  and  his  hands  were 
covered  with  tears."  As  he  pronounced  his  parting  words,  a 
sob  was  heard  here  and  there  in  the  assembly ;  and  when  he 
sat  down,  the  whole  audience  -were  in  tears.  "  Then,"  says  the 
eye-witness  just  quoted,  "  when  strong  nervous  sobs  broke 
loose,  when  tears  covered  the  faces,  then  the  great  man  was 
shaken.  I  never  took  my  eyes  from  his  face.  Large  drops 
fell  from  his  cheeks." 

The  late  President  Duer,  of  Columbia  College,  who  was 
present  on  that  occasion,  says  that  when  Washington  left  the 
hall,  there  was  "  a  rush  from  the  gallery  that  threatened  the 
lives  of  those  who  were  most  eager  to  catch  a  last  look  of  him 
who,  among  mortals,  was  the  first  object  of  their  veneration." 
"  Some  of  us,"  he  said,  "  effected  an  escape  by  slipping  down 
the  pillars." 

"When  Washington  had  entered  iiis  carriage,  the  multitude 
in  the  streets  uttered  long  and  loud  huzzas,  and  he  waved  his 
hand  in  return. 

"  I  followed  him,"  says  Duer,  "  in  the  crowd  to  his  own 
door,  where,  as  he  turned  to  address  the  multitude,  his  coun- 
tenance assumed  a  serious  and  almost  melancholy  expression, 
his  voice  failed  him,  his  eyes  were  suffused  with  tears,  and 
only  by  his  gestures  could  he  indicate  his  thanks,  and  convey 
a  farewell  blessing  to  the  people." 


282  MOUNT     VERNON 

In  the  evening  a  splendid  entertainment  was  given  to  the 
retiring  President,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  in  the 
Amphitheatre,  which  was  beautifully  decorated  with  appro- 
priate paintings.  One  of  the  newspapers  of  the  day  thus 
describes  a  compliment  that  was  paid  to  Washington  on  that 
occasion : 

"  Upon  entering  the  area  the  General  was  conducted  to  his 
seat.  On  a  signal  given,  the  band  played  Washington's 
March,  and  a  scene,  which  represented  simple  objects  in  the 
rear  of  the  principal  seat,  was  drawn  up  and  discovered  emble- 
matical paintings.  The  principal  was  a  female  figure  as  large 
as  life,  representing  America,  seated  on  an  elevation  composed 
of  sixteen  marble  steps.  At  her  left  side  stood  the  federal 
shield  and  eagle,  and  at  her  feet  lay  the  cornucopia  /  in  her 
right  hand  she  held  the  Indian  calumet  of  peace  supporting 
the  cap  of  liberty  ;  in  the  perspective  appeared  the  temple  of 
fame ;  and,  on  her  left  hand,  an  altar  dedicated  to  public  grat. 
itude,  upon  which  incense  was  burning.  In  her  left  hand  she 
held  a  scroll  inscribed  Valedictory;  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar  lay  a  plumed  helmet  and  sword,  from  which  a  figure  of 
General  Washington,  as  large  as  life,  appeared  retiring  down  the 
steps,  pointing  with  his  right  hand  to  the  emblems  of  power 
which  he  had  resigned,  and  with  his  left  to  a  beautiful  land- 
scape representing  Mount  Vernon,  in  front  of  which  oxen  were 
seen  harnessed  to  the  plough.  Over  the  General  appeared  a 
genius,  placing  a  wreath  of  laurels  on  his  head." 

These  pictures  were  from  the  pencil  of  Charles  Willson 
Peale,  who,  twenty-five  years  before,  as  we  have  observed, 
had  painted  the  portrait  of  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  in 
the  costume  of  a  Virginia  colonel. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  283 

The  heads  of  departments,  foreign  ministers,  and  distin- 
guished strangers  in  Philadelphia,  were  present  on  this  gala 
occasion ;  and  with  that  elegant  display  of  taste,  fashion,  and 
gayety,  ended  the  public  life  of  Washington.  To  General 
Knox  he  had  written  two  days  before : 

"The  remainder  of  my  life,  which  in  the  course  of  nature 
cannot  be  long,  will  be  occupied  in  rural  amusements;  and, 
though  I  shall  seclude  myself  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
noisy  and  bustling  crowd,  none  would  more  than  myself  be 
regaled  by  the  company  of  those  I  esteem,  at  Mount  Yernon ; 
more  than  twenty  miles  from  which,  after  I  arrive  there,  it  is 
not  likely  that  I  shall  ever  be." 

Before  following  Washington  to  his  home,  from  which  he 
never  did  go  more  than  twenty  miles  afterward,  let  us  listen 
to  the  voice  of  another  eye-witness  of  events  during  Washing- 
ton's administration  (the  late  Rev.  Ashbel  Greene),  as  he  dis- 
courses of  the  table  of  the  President.  He  says : 

"The  President  ate  Indian  cakes  for  breakfast,  after  the 
Virginia  fashion,  although  buckwheat  cakes  were  generally  on 
the  table.  Washington's  dining  parties  were  entertained  in  a 
very  handsome  style.  His  weekly  dining  day,  for  company, 
was  Thursdav,  and  his  dining  hour  was  always  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  His  rule  was  to  allow  five  minutes  for  the 
variation  of  clocks  and  watches,  and  then  go  to  the  table,  be 
present  or  absent  whoever  might.  He  kept  his  own  clock  in 
the  hall,  just  within  the  outward  door,  and  always  exactly 
regulated.  When  lagging  members  of  Congress  came  in,  as 
they  often  did,  after  the  guests  had  sat  down  to  dinner,  the 
President's  only  apology  was,  'Gentlemen  (or  sir),  we  are  too 
punctual  for  you.  I  have  a  cook  who  never  asks  whether  the 


284  MOUNT    VERNON 

company,  but  whether  the  hour  has  come.'  The  company 
usually  assembled  in  the  drawing-room,  about  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes  before  dinner,  and  the  President  spoke  to 
every  guest  personally  on  entering  the  room.  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton often,  but  not  always,  dined  with  the  company,  sat  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  and  if,  as  was  occasionally  the  case,  there 
were  other  ladies  present,  they  sat  each  side  of  her.  The 
private  secretary  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  table,  and  was  expected 
to  be  quietly  attentive  to  all  the  guests.  The  President  him- 
self sat  half- way  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  table,  and  on 
that  side  he  would  place  Mrs.  Washington,  though  distant 
from  him,  on  his  right  hand.  He  always,  unless  a  clergyman 
was  present,  at  his  own  table  asked  a  blessing,  in  a  standing 
posture.  If  a  clergyman  were  present,  he  was  requested  both 
to  ask  a  blessing  and  to  return  thanks  after  dinner.  The 
centre  of  the  table  contained  five  or  six  large  silver  or  plated 
waiters,  those  of  the  ends,  circular,  or  rather  oval  on  one  side, 
so  as  to  make  the  arrangement  correspond  with  the  oval  shape 
of  the  table.  The  waiters  between  the  end  pieces  were  in  the 
form  of  parallelograms,  the  ends  about  one-third  part  of  the 
length  of  the  sides ;  and  the  whole  of  these  waiters  were  filled 
with  alabaster  figures,  taken  from  the  ancient  mythology,  but 
none  of  them  such  as  to  offend  in  the  smallest  degree  against 
delicacy.  On  the  outside  of  the  oval,  formed  by  the  waiters, 
were  placed  the  various  dishes,  always  without  covers ;  and 
outside  the  dishes  were  the  plates.  A  small  roll  of  bread, 
enclosed  in  a  napkin,  was  laid  by  the  side  of  each  plate.  The 
President,  it  is  believed,  generally  dined  on  one  dish,  and  that 
of  a  very  simple  kind.  If  offered  something,  either  in  the  first 
or  second  course,  which  was  very  rich,  his  usual  reply  was : 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  285 

'  That  is  too  good  for  me.'  He  had  a  silver  pint  cup  or  mug 
of  beer  placed  by  his  plate,  which  he  drank  while  dining.  He 
took  one  glass  of  wine  during  dinner,  and  commonly  one  after. 
He  then  retired  (the  ladies  having  gone  a  little  before  him), 
and  left  his  secretary  to  superintend  the  table,  till  the  wine- 
bibbers  of  Congress  had  satisfied  themselves  with  drinking. 
His  wines  were  always  the  best  that  could  be  obtained. 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  order  with  which  his  table  was 
served.  Every  servant  knew  what  he  was  to  do,  and  did  it  in 
the  most  quiet  and  yet  rapid  manner.  The  dishes  and  plates 
were  removed  and  changed,  with  a  silence  and  speed  that 
seemed  like  enchantment." 

On  the  9th  of  March  Washington  set  out  for  Mount  Yernon, 
a  private  citizen,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Washington,  her  two 
grandchildren  (Master  and  Miss  Custis),  and  George  Washing- 
ton Lafayette,  son  of  the  marquis,  who  was  then  an  exile  from 
France,  and  in  prison.  Young  Lafayette  was  then  between 
seventeen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  was  accompanied  by 
his  preceptor,  M.  Frestel,  who  composed  a  part  of  the  family 
then  on  its  way  to  Mount  Yernon. 

The  misfortunes  of  Lafayette,  whom  Washington  loved  so 
devotedly,  and  the  condition  of  his  interesting  family,  had 
given  him  more  painful  anxiety,  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
administration,  than  any  other  circumstance. 

Lafayette,  as  we  have  seen,  was  one  of  the  prime  leaders  in 
the  revolution  in  France  during  its  first  stages.  He  was  an 
aqtive  advocate  of  civil  liberty,  but  conservative  in  a  country 
where  and  when  representatives  and  constituents  were  alike 
radical.  When  the  revolution  was  at  its  height,  he  was  at 
the  head  of  the  Constitutionalists ',  who  advised  moderation. 


286 


MOUNT     VERNON 


/' 

'/ '        / 

GtORGK  WASHINGTON  LAFAYETTK. 


Because  of  this,  he,  of  all  the  leaders,  was  left  almost  alone. 
He  was  forsaken  by  timid  friends,  who  trembled  at  the  frowns 
of  the  Terrorists,  and  was  menaced  by  his  violent  political 
enemies.  He  dared  to  oppose  the  factions,  of  whatever  creed, 
and  for  this  he  drew  upon  his  head  the  anathemas  of  the 
Jacobins,  the  emigrants,  and  the  royalists.  Even  his  army, 
hitherto  faithful,  had  become  disaffected  toward  him,  through 
the  machinations  of  his  enemies,  and  nothing  remained  for  him 
but  to  flee.  He  left  his  army  encamped  at  Sedan,  and,  in 
company  with  a  few  faithful  friends,  set  oif  for  Holland,  to 
seek  an  asylum  there  or  in  the  United  States. 

At  the  first  Austrian  post  he  and  his  friends  were  at  first 
detained,   and    then    made  prisoners.      Soon   afterward   they 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  287 

were  sent  to  the  dungeons  of  Wesel  and  Magdeburg,  and 
ultimately  to  those  of  Olmutz,  by  order  of  the  allied  monarchs 
of  Austria  and  Prussia. 

When  information  of  this  condition  of  his  dear  friend 
reached  Washington  at  Philadelphia,  he  was  deeply  moved. 
The  late  venerable  Richard  Rush — intelligence  of  whose  death 
is  spreading  upon  electric  pinions  over  the  land  while  I  write 
(August  1, 1859) — relates  an  interesting  incident  illustrative  of 
the  feelings  of  Washington  on  that  occasion.  Mr.  Bradford, 
the  attorney-general,  was  living  directly  opposite  the  Presi- 
dent's house,  and  was  spending  an  evening  with  Washington's 
family,  when  the  conversation  reverted  to  Lafayette.  Wash- 
ington spoke  with  great  seriousness,  contrasted  the  marquis's 
hitherto  splendid  career  with  his  present  forlorn  and  suffering 
condition,  and  at  length  became  so  deeply  affected,  that  his 
eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  his  whole  great  soul  was  stirred  to 
its  very  depths.  "Magnanimous  tears  they  were,"  says  Mr. 
Rush,  "  fit  for  the  first  of  heroes  to  shed — virtuous,  honorable, 
sanctified !" 

Mr.  Bradford,  who  deeply  sympathized  with  the  feelings  of 
Washington,  was  much  affected  at  the  spectacle,  and  returning 
to  his  own  house,  he  "  sat  down,"  says  Griswold,  from  whose 
Republican  Court  I  quote,  "  and  wrote  the  following  simple, 
but  touching  verses,  an  impromptu  effusion  from  the  heart  of 
a  man  of  sensibility  and  genius  : 

"THE  LAMENT  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"  As  beside  his  cheerful  fire, 
'Midst  his  happy  family, 
Sat  a  venerable  sire, 
Tears  were  starting  in  his  eye, 


288  MOUNT     V  E  R  N  0  X 

Selfish  blessings  were  forgot, 
Whilst  he  thought  on  Fayette's  lot, 
Once  so  happy  on  our  plains — 
Now  in  poverty  and  chains. 

"  '  Fayette,'  cried  lie — '  honored  name  1 . 
Dear  to  these  far  distant  shores — 
Fayette,  fired  by  freedom's  flame, 
Bled  to  make  that  freedom  ours. 
What,  alas  !  for  this  remains — 
What,  but  poverty  and  chains ! 

"  '  Soldiers  in  our  fields  of  death — 
Was  not  Fayette  foremost  there  ? 
Cold  and  shivering  on  the  heath, 
Did  you  not  his  bounty  share? 
What  reward  for  this  remains, 
What,  but  poverty  and  chains ! 

'' '  Hapless  Fayette  I  'midst  thine  error, 
How  my  soul  thy  worth  reveres ! 
Son  of  freedom,  tyrant's  terror, 
Hero  of  both  hemispheres ! 
What  reward  for  all  remains, 
What,  but  poverty  and  chains  ! 

"  '  Born  to  honors,  ease,  and  wealth, 
See  him  sacrifice  them  all; 
Sacrificing  also  health, 
At  his  country's  glorious  call, 
What  for  thee,  my  friend,  remains, 
What,  but  poverty  and  chains  I 

"  '  Thus  with  laurels  on  his  brow 
Belisarius  begged  for  bread; 
Thus,  from  Carthage  forced  to  go, 
Hannibal  an  exile  fled. 
Alas !  Fayette  at  once  sustains 
EXILE,  POVERTY,  and  CHAINS!' 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  289 

"Courage,  child  of  Washington ! 
Though  thy  fate  disastrous  seems, 
We  have  seen  the  setting  sun 
Rise  and  burn  with  brighter  beams, 
Thy  country  soon  shall  break  thy  chain, 
And  take  thee  to  her  arms  again. 

Thy  country  soon  shall  break  thy  chain, 

And  take  thee  to  her  arms  again  !" 

In  the  horrid  dungeon  at  Olnmtz,  in  a  cell  three  paces 
broad  and  five  and  a  half  long,  containing  no  other  ornament 
than  two  French  verses  whicli  rhyme  with  the  words  to  suffer 
and  to  die,  the  generous  Lafayette  was  confined  almost  three 
years,  and  yet  his  great  soul  was  not  bound  by  suffering,  nor 
his  zeal  for  liberty  one  whit  abated.  Deprived  of  pen,  ink, 
and  paper,  except  a  sheet  that  "by  a  miracle"  he  possessed, 
he  wrote  a  letter  with  a  toothpick  to  a  princess  who  sympa- 
thized with  him,  and  said,  in  a  postscript : 

"  I  know  not  what  disposition  has  been  made  of  my  planta- 
tion at  Cayenne,  but  I  hope  Madame  Lafayette  will  take  care 
that  the  negroes  who  cultivate  it  shall  preserve  their  liberty." 

Lafayette's  noble  wife,  as  soon  as  she  could  get  permission 
to  leave  France,  hastened  to  Olmutz,  with  her  daughters,  to 
share  the  prison  with  the  husband  and  father,  while  their  son, 
George  Washington,  came  to  the  United  States,  with  his  tutor, 
consigned  to  the  fatherly  care  and  protection  of  the  great 
patriot  whose  name  he  bore.  They  arrived  at  Boston  at  the 
close  of  the  summer  of  1795,  and  immediately  informed  Wash- 
ington of  the  fact.  The  President's  first  impulse  was  to  take 
the  young  man  to  his  bosom  and  cherish  him  as  a  son,  "but 
grave  reasons  of  state  denied  him  that  pleasure.  "  To  express 
all  the  sensibility,"  he  said,  in  a  letter  to  Senator  Cabot,  of 

19 


290  MOUNT     VERNON 

Boston,  "which  has  been  jBxcited  in  my  breast  by  the  receipt  of 
young  Lafayette's  letter,  from  the  recollections  of  his  father's 
merits,  services,  and  sufferings,  from  my  friendship  for  him, 
and  from  my  wishes  to  become  a  friend  and  father  to  his  son, 
is  unnecessary."  He  then  declared  himself  the  young  man's 
friend,  but  intimated  that  great  caution  in  the  manifestation  of 
that  friendship  would  be  necessary,  considering  the  light  in 
which  his  father  was  then  viewed  by  the  French  government, 
and  "Washington's  own  situation  as  the  executive  of  the  United 
States.  He  desired  Mr.  Cabot  to  make  young  Lafayette  and 
M.  Frestel,  his  tutor,  understand  why  he  could  not  receive  them 
as  he  desired,  but  that  his  support  and  protection,  until  a  more 
auspicious  moment,  might  be  relied  on.  He  ordered  them  to 
be  provided  with  every  thing  necessary,  at  his  expense,  and 
advised  their  entrance  at  Harvard  University. 

Young  Lafayette  assumed  the  name  of  Motier  (a  family 
name  of  his  father) ;  and  in  November  Washington  wrote  to 
him  with  caution,  telling  him  that  the  causes  which  rendered 
it  necessary  for  them  both  to  be  circumspect  were  not  yet 
removed,  and  desiring  him  to  repair  to  Colonel  Hamilton,  in 
New  York,  who  would  see  that  he  was  well  provided  for. 

"  How  long  the  causes  which  have  withheld  you  from  me 
may  continue,"  Washington  said,  "  I  am  not  able  at  this 
moment  to  decide ;  but  be  assured  of  my  wishes  to  embrace 
you  so  soon  as  they  shall  have  ceased,  and  that,  whenever  the 
period  arrives,  I  shall  do  it  with  fervency."  He  then,  with 
fatherly  solicitude,  advised  him  to  attend  well  to  his  studies, 
that  he  might  "be  found  to  be  a  deserving  son  of  a  meritorious 
father." 

After  leaving  Boston,  young  Lafayette  lived  with  his  tutor 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  291 

for  awhile  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  in  comparative  seclu- 
sion. At  length  the  Congress  took  cognizance  of  the  presence 
of  the  young  man,  and  on  the  18th  of  March  the  House  of 
Representatives  passed  the  following  resolution  and  order : 

u  Information  having  been  given  to  this  House  that  a  son  of 
General  Lafayette  is  now  within  the  United  States ; 

u  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  truth  of  the1  said  information,  and  report  thereon ;  and 
what  measures  it  would  be  proper  to  take  if  the  same  be  true, 
to  evince  the  grateful  sense  entertained  by  the  country  for  the 
services  of  his  father. 

"  Ordered  that  Mr.  Livingston,  Mr.  Sherburne,  and  Mr. 
Murray  be  appointed  a  committee  pursuant  to  the  said  resolu- 
tion." 

As  chairman  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Livingston  wrote  to 
young  Lafayette  as  follows : 

"  SIR  :  Actuated  by  motives  of  gratitude  to  your  father,  and 
eager  to  seize  every  opportunity  of  showing  their  sense  of  his 
important  services,  the  House  of  Representatives  have  passed 

the  resolution  which  I  have   the   pleasure   to   communicate. 

r 
The  committee  being  directed  to  inquire  into  the  fact  of  your 

arrival  within  the  United  States,  permit  me  to  advise  your 
immediate  appearance  at  this  place,  that  the  legislature  of 
America  may  no  longer  be  in  doubt,  whether  the  son  of  Lafay- 
ette is  ..under  their  protection,  and  within  the  reach  of  their 
gratitude. 

'"I  presume  to  give  this  advice  as  an  individual  personally 
attached  to  your  father,  and  very  solicitous  to  be  useful  to  any 
person  in  whose  happiness  he  is  interested.  If  I  should  have 


292  MOUNT    VERNON 

that  good  fortune  on  this  occasion,  it  will  afford  me  the  great- 
est satisfaction. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  EDWARD  LIVINGSTON." 

This  letter  and  the  resolutions  of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives 
young  Lafayette  forwarded  to  President  Washington,  and  asked 
his  advice  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue.  Washington 
advised  him  to  come  to  Philadelphia  at  the  opening  of  the 
next  session  of  Congress,  but  to  avoid  society  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. He  complied,  and  remained  in  Philadelphia  until  the 
following  spring,  when  Washington,  on  becoming  a  private 
citizen,  embraced  the  son  of  his  friend  as  if  he  had  been  his 
own  child,  and  bore  him  to  his  home  on  the  Potomac.  There 
lie  remained  until  early  in  October,  when  the  joyful  news 
having  reached  him  of  the  release  of  his  father  from  confine- 
ment, and  his  restoration  to  his  country  and  friends,  caused 
him  to  leave  for  the  seaboard  to  depart  for  France.  He 
and  M.  Frestel  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  26th  of  October, 
1797. 

As  young  Lafayette  was  about  to  leave  Mount  Yernori, 
Washington  placed  a  letter  in  his  hands  for  his  father,  in 
which  he  said : 

"From  the  delicate  and  responsible  situation  in  which  I 
stood  as  a  public  officer,  but  more  especially  from  a  miscon- 
ception of  the  manner  in  which  your  son  had  left  France,  till 
explained  to  me  in  a  personal  interview  with  himself,  he  did 
not  come  immediately  into  my  family  on  his  arrival  in  Amer- 
ica, though  he  was  assured  in  the  first  moments  of  it  of  my 
protection  and  support.  His  conduct,  since  he  first  set  his  feet  on 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  293 

American  ground,  has  been  exemplary  in  every  point  of  view, 
such  as  has  gained  him  the  esteem,  affection,  and  confidence 
of  all  who  have  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.  His 
filial  affection  and  duty,  and  his  ardent  desire  to  embrace  his 
parents  and  sisters  in  the  first  moments  of  their  release,  would 
not  allow  him  to  wait  the  authentic  account  of  this  much- 
desired  event ;  but,  at  the  same  time  that  I  suggested  the  pro- 
priety of  this,  I  could  not  withhold  my  assent  to  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  wishes  to  fly  to  the  arms  of  those  whom  he  holds 
most  dear,  persuaded  as  he  is  from  the  information  he  has 
received,  that  lie  shall  find  you  all  in  Paris. 

"  M.  Frestel  has  been  a  true  Mentor  to  George.  No  parent 
could  have  been  more  attentive  to  a  favorite  son;  and  he 
richly  merits  all  that  can  be  said  of  his  virtues,  of  his  good 
sense,  and  of  his  prudence.  Both  your  son  and  he  carry  with 
them  the  vows  and  regrets  of  this  family,  and  all  who  know 
them.  And  you  may  be  assured  that  yourself  never  stood 
higher  in  the  affections  of  the  people  of  this  country  than  at 
the  present  moment." 

The  profile  of  George  Washington  Lafayette,  given  on  a 
preceding  page,  was  painted  in  crayon,  by  James  Sharpless, 
an  English  artist,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1796,  and 
visited  all  the  principal  cities  and  towns  in  the  United  States, 
carrying  letters  of  introduction  to  various  distinguished  per- 
sons, and  requesting  them  to  sit  for  their  portraits.  These 
were  generally  painted  in  crayon,  upon  a  small  scale,  and 
finished  in  less  than  three  hours  from  the  commencement  of 
the  sitting.  Sharpless  usually  drew  them  in  profile,  and  the 
likenesses  were  generally  so  much  admired  for  their  faithful- 
ness, that  orders  would  sometimes  be  given  for  whole  families. 


294 


MOUNT     VERNON 


In  this  way  lie  painted  immense  numbers  of  portraits,  and 
received  fifteen  dollars  for  each  commission. 

Sliarpless  brought  with  him  his  wife  and  three  children. 
He  made  New  York  his  head-quarters,  and  generally  travelled 
in  a  four-wheeled  carriage,  so  contrived  by  himself  as  to  con- 


G.    W.    P.    CUSTIS    AT    THE    AGE    OF    SEVENTEEN    YEARS. 


vey  his  whole  family  and  all  of  his  painting  apparatus,  and* 
drawn  by  one  stout  horse.  He  was  a  plain  and  frugal  man, 
and  amassed  a  competence  by  his  profession.  He  was  a  man 
of  science  and  a  mechanician,  and  manufactured  the  crayons 
which  he  used  in  his  profession.  He  died  suddenly  in  New 
York,  at  the  age  of  about  sixty  years,  and  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery  attached  to  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel  in  Barclay 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  295 

street.  His  widow  and  family  returned  to  England,  where 
they  sold  the  portraits  of  the  distinguished  Americans  whom 
Sharpless  had  painted,  and  settled  in  Bath. 

While  in  Philadelphia  Sharpless  painted  the  profile  portraits 
of  President  and  Mrs.  Washington ;  and  also  those  of  George 
Washington  Lafayette  (just  mentioned)  and  George  Washing- 
ton Parke  Custis.  The  latter  was  then  a  lad  between  sixteen 
and  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  he  and  young  Lafayette 
became  warmly  attached  friends.  When,  in  1824  and  1825, 
General  Lafayette  visited  this  country,  as  the  guest  of  the 
nation,  his  son  George  accompanied  him,  and  he  and  Mr. 
Custis  were  much  together  when  opportunity  allowed  the 
privilege.  The  following  note  from  George  W.  Lafayette  to 
the  friend  of  his  youth,  is  an  exhibition  of  the  warmth  of  his 
attachment : 

"WASHINGTON  CITY,  January  the  third,  1825. 

"  MY  DEAE  CUSTIS  :  My  father  being  able  to  dispose  of  him- 
self on  Wednesday,  will  do  himself  the  pleasure  of  going  that 
day  to  dine  at  Arlington.  It  is  so  long  since  I  wished  for  that 
satisfaction  myself,  that  I  most  sincerely  rejoice  at  the  antici- 
pation of  it.  You  know,  my  friend,  how  happy  I  was  when 
we  met  at  Baltimore.  Since  that  day  I  felt  every  day  more 
and  more  how  much  our  two  hearts  were  calculated  to  under- 
:stand  each  other.  Be  pleased,  my  dear  Custis,  to  present  my 
respectful  homage  to  the  ladies,  and  receive  for  yourself  the 
expression  of  my  most  affectionate  and  brotherly  sentiments." 

The  profiles  of  General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  by  Sharpless, 
have  been  pronounced  by  members  of  the  Washington  family 
who  remembered  the  originals,  as  the  best  likenesses  extant, 


296 


MOUNT     VKRNON 


both  in  form  and  color.  Sharpless  made  many  copies  from  it. 
So  also  did  Mrs.  Sharpless,  who  painted  miniatures  in  water 
colors  most  exquisitely.  One  of  these  is  in  the  possession  of 


CRAYON    PROFILE    OF    WASHINGTON. 


Mrs.  Eliza  M.  Evans,  a  daughter  of  General  Anthony  Walton 
"White,  of  New  Jersey.  It  is  somewhat  smaller  than  the  usual 
size  of  miniatures,  and  on  the  back  is  written,  by  the  hand  of 
the  fair  artist :  "  General  Washington,  Philadelphia,  1796.  E. 
Sharpless." 

These  four  originals,  by  Sharpless,  are  preserved  at  Arling- 
ton House.  Those  of  Mrs.  Washington,  and  Lafayette  and 
Custis.  when  lads,  have  never  been  engraved  before.  They 
hung  upon  the  walls  at  Mount  Vernon  from  the  time  when 
Washington  retired  from  the  presidency  until  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Washington,  in  1802,  when  they  passed  into  the  posses- 
sion of  her  grandson,  G.  W.  P.  Custis. 

When  fairly  seated  again  in  private  life  at  Mount  Yernon, 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


297 


Washington  appeared  to  revel  in  the  luxury  of  quiet.  He  was 
never  idle,  never  indifferent  to  the  progress  of  current  events, 
but  he  loved  the  peacefulness  of  nature  away  from  the  haunts 


CRATOX  PROFILE  OF  MRS.  WASHINGTON. 


of  men,  and  was  delighted  when  working  like  the  bee  among 
the  fruits  and  flowers.  He  was  not  unsocial,  and  yet  he  loved 
to  be  away  from  the  great  gathering-places  of  men  and  the 
tumults  of  public  life.  He  was  not  unambitious,  but  he  was 
not  only  indifferent  but  averse  to  the  plaudits  of  the  multitude 
when  given  in  the  accents  of  flattery.  He  wished  to  be  loved 
as  a  righteous  man,  and  he  relied  upon  his  conscience  more 
than  upon  the  voices  of  men  for  a  knowledge  of  the  accept- 
ableness  of  his  endeavors.  It  was  his  guide  in  all  things,  for 
he  regarded  it  in  one  sense  as  Emanuel — God  with  us— the 
righteous  judge  of  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  men. 

Washington  now  felt  that  his  country  had  received  all  that 


298  MOUNT    VERNON 

could  reasonably  be  asked  of  him  as  a  public  servant,  and  he 
returned  to  his  old  pursuits  with  a  sincere  desire  to  mingle  no 
more  in  the  stirring  arena  of  busy  life.  "  To  make  and  sell  a 
little  flour  annually,"  he  wrote  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  "  to  repair 
houses  (going  fast  to  ruin),  to  build  one  for  the  security  of  my 
papers  of  a  public  nature,  and  to  amuse  myself  in  agricultural 
and  rural  pursuits,  will  constitute  employment  for  the  few 
years  I  have  to  remain  on  this  terrestrial  globe.  If,  also,  I 
could  now  and  then  meet  the  friends  I  esteem,  it  would  fill  the 
measure  and  add  zest  to  nay  enjoyments;  but,  if  ever  this  hap- 
pens, it  must  be  under  my  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  as  I  do  not 
think  it  probable  that  I  shall  go  twenty  miles  from  them." 

"Washington  enjoyed  the  visits  of  friends,  but  those  of  mere 
ceremony  he  disliked,  and  was  sometimes  annoyed  by  those 
prompted  by  idle  curiosity. 

"  I  might  tell  my  friend,"  he  said,  in  a  letter  at  the  close  of 
May  to  Mr.  McHenry,  the  secretary  of  war,  "  that  I  begin  my 
diurnal  course  with  the  sun ;  that  if  my  hirelings  are  not  in 
their  places  at  that  time,  I  send  them  messages  of  sorrow  for 
their  indisposition;  that,  having  put  these  wheels  in  motion, 
I  examine  the  state  of  things  further ;  that  the  more  they  are 
probed,  the  deeper  I  find  the  wounds  which  my  buildings  have 
sustained  by  an  absence  and  neglect  of  eight  years ;  that  by 
the  time  I  have  accomplished  these  matters,  breakfast  (a  little 
after  seven  o'clock,  about  the  time  I  presume  you  are  taking 
leave  of  Mrs.  McHenry)  is  ready ;  that  this  being  over,  I 
mount  my  horse  and  ride  round  my  farms,  which  employs  me 
until  it  is  time  to  dress  for  dinner,  at  which  I  rarely  miss  seeing 
strange  faces,  come,  as  they  say,  out  of  respect  for  me.  Pray, 
would  not  the  word  curiosity  answer  as  well  ?  And  how  dif- 


.       AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  299 

ferent  this  from  having  a  few  social  friends  at  a  cheerful 
board!  The  usual  time  of  sitting  at  table,  a  walk,  and  tea, 
bring  me  within  the  dawn  of  candlelight ;  previous  to  which, 
if  not  prevented  by  company,  I  resolve  that,  as  soon  as  the 
glimmering  taper  supplies  the  place  of  the  great  luminary,  I 
will  retire  to  my  writing-table  and  acknowledge  the  letters  I 
have  received ;  but  when  the  lights  are  brought,  I  feel  tired 
and  disinclined  to  engage  in  this  work,  conceiving  that  the 
next  night  will  do  as  well.  The  next  night  comes,  and  with  it 
the  same  causes  for  postponement,  and  so  on. 

"  This  will  account  for  your  letter  remaining  so  long  unac- 
knowledged ;  and,  having  given  you  the  history  of  a  day,  it 
will  serve  for  a  year,  and  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  require 
a  second  edition  of  it.  But  it  may  strike  you  that,  in  this 
detail,  no  mention  is  made  of  any  portion  of  time  allotted  for 
reading.  The  remark  would  be  just,  for  I  have  not  looked 
into  a  book  since  I  came  home ;  nor  shall  I  be  able  to  do  it 
until  I  have  discharged  my  workmen,  probably  not  before  the 
nights  grow  longer,  when  possibly  I  may  be  looking  in  Dooms- 
day Book." 

Washington's  allusion  in  the  foregoing  letter  to  his  writing- 
table,  reminds  me  of  his  inkstand,  which  is  preserved  at  Arling- 
ton House.  It  is  composed  wholly  of  silver,  except  three  cut- 
glass  bottles,  two  of  them  used  for  ink,  and  one  (in  the  centre) 
for  sand.  The  tray  is  seven  and  a  half  inches  in  length. 
It  was  used  by  "Washington  during  the  last  two  years  of  his 
administration,  and  ever  afterward  at  Mount  Yernon. 

Washington  found  his  mansion  and  all  of  the  surrounding 
buildings  much  in  want  of  repair  when  he  returned  home. 
"  I  find  myself,"  he  said,  "  in  the  situation  nearly  of  a  new 


300 


MOUNT     VERNON 


WASHINGTON'S  INKSTAND. 

• 

beginner ;  for  although  I  have  not  houses  to  build  (except  one, 
which  I  must  erect  for  the  accommodation  and  security  of  my 
military,  civil,  and  private  papers,  which  are  voluminous  and 
may  be  interesting),  yet  I  have  scarcely  any  thing  else  about 
me  that  does  not  require  considerable  repairs.  In  a  word,  I 
am  already  surrounded  by  joiners,  masons,  and  painters  ;  and 
such  is  my  anxiety  to  get  out  of  their  hands,  that  I  have 
scarcely  a  room  to  put  a  friend  into  or  to  sit  in  myself,  without 
the  music  of  hammers  or  the  odoriferous  scent  of  paint." 

The  mansion  at  Mount  Yernon  was  soon  thoroughly  repair- 
ed, and  many  ornaments  and  pieces  of  furniture,  not  known  to 
it  before,  were  placed  in  it.  Whatever  had  been  used  in  the 
presidential  mansion  at  Philadelphia,  and  could  be  appro- 
priately transferred  to  Mount  Yernon,  were  reserved,  when 
Washington  broke  up  his  establishment  in  the  federal  capital, 
and  disposed  of  all  superfluities. 

Among  other  things  brought  on  from  Philadelphia,  was  a 
pair  of  mural  candelabra,  of  elegant  form  and  workmanship. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


301 


These  were  upon  the  walls  of  the  dining-room  at  Philadelphia, 
which  was  also  used  for  public  receptions  by  the  President 
and  his  wife.  They  were  now  placed  in  the  large  drawing- 


MURAL    CANDELABRA. 


AXCIF.NT    LANTERN. 


room  at  Mount  Vernon.  They  are  each  constructed  of  a  mir- 
ror enclosed  in  a  neat  metal  frame,  resting  upon  an  elaborately 
wrought  bracket,  and  surmounted  by  flowers  and  festoons  of 
leaves,  all  of  the  same  material,  and  heavily  gilt.  In  front 
of  the  mirror  is  a  crystal  candlestick  and  branches,  so  placed 
as  to  have  a  brilliant  reflection  produced. 


302  MOUNT    VERNON 

These  "lustres,"  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  were  im- 
ported from  France,  and  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
ancient  dingy  iron  lantern  which  hung  in  the  great  passage. 
That  lantern,  first  hung  up  in  the  original  cottage  upon  Mount 
Vernon  by  Lawrence  Washington,  continued  its  services  there 
until  the  death  of  the  general.  It  had  then  cast  its  dim  light 
upon  the  entrance  door  full  eighty  years.  It  is  still  in  service, 
having  for  more  than  fifty  years  lighted  the  great  passage  at 
Arlington  House,  illuminating  pictures  by  Vandyke  and  Sir 
Godfrey  Kneller. 

In  the  dining-room  at  Mount  Yernon  was  another  relic  of 
the  household  of  Lawrence  Washington.  It  was  a  sideboard, 
handsomely  wrought  of  black  walnut,  and  is  an  excellent 
specimen  of  the  quality  of  furniture  in  Yirginia  a  hundred 
years  ago.  Its  edges  and  legs  are  ornamented  with  delicate 
leaf-carving,  and  the  wood  is  as  perfect  as  when  it  was  first 
used.  It  is  about  five  feet  in  length,  two  and  a  half  feet  in 
width,  and  three  feet  in  height,  and  quite  heavy.  It  is  used  by 
the  family  at  Arlington  House,  and  is  prized  as  one  of  the  most 
precious  mementos  of  Mount  Yernon,  because  of  its  antiquity. 

There  are  also  a  tea-table  and  punch-bowl  at  Arlington  House 
that  belonged  to  Washington.  The  former  is  quite  small, 
elliptical  in  shape,  about  three  feet  in  length,  and  made  of 
mahogany.  It  was  manufactured  in  New  York  for  use  in  the 
executive  mansion  there,  as  a  tea-table  only,  for  the  little 
private  family  of  Washington,  which  consisted  of  only  four 
persons.  Food  was  not  often  set  upon  it.  Washington  seldom 
ate  any  thing  after  dinner  until  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
when,  with  his  family,  he  partook  of  a  cup  of  tea  served  from 
this  table,  and  a  small  slice  of  buttered  bread. 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


303 


SIDEBOARD,    TEA-TABLE,    AND    PUNCH-BOWL. 

The  great  porcelain  punch-bowl  delineated  in  the  engraving, 
has  a  deep  blue  border  at  the  rim,  spangled  with  gilt  stars 
and  dots.  It  was  made  expressly  for  Washington,  but  when, 
where,  and  by  whom  is  not  known.  In  the  bottom  is  a  picture 
of  a  frigate,  and  on  the  side  are  the  initials  G.  ~W.,  in  gold, 
upon  a  shield  with  ornamental  sur- 
roundings. It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  presented  to  Washington  by 
the  French  naval  officers.  If  so,  it 
was  doubtless  manufactured  and 
sent  over  at  the  time  when  the  Cin- 
cinnati china  was  forwarded. 

There  are  two  massive  silver  can- 
dlesticks, with  extinguishers  and 
snuffers  of  the  same  metal,  at  Ar- 
lington House,  that  once  belonged 

WASHINGTON  S   SILVER   CANDLESTICK.' 

to   Washington.      These   formed   a 

part  of  his  furniture  after  his  retirement  from  the  army,  in 


304  MOUNT    VERNON 

1783,  and  are  a  portion  of  his  plate  not  remodelled  afterward 
in  New  York. 

How  many  interesting  associations  are  made  to  cluster 
around  these  simple  utensils  of  domestic  use,  at  the  sugges- 
tions of  fancy  and  conjecture!  Perhaps  almost  every  distin- 
guished European — Lafayette,  Rochambeau,  Chastellux,  Hou- 
don,  Pine,  Moustier,  Brissot,  D'Yruzo,  Graham — as  well  as 
equally  distinguished  Americans  who  have  spent  a  night  at 
Mount  Yernon — bore  one  of  them  to  the  bedchamber. 

Perhaps  they  were  used  by  Washington  himself  at  his 
writing-table  or  by  the  fireside,  or  to  light  the  conjugal 
chamber.  And  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  master  bore  one 
of  them  on  the  occasion  mentioned  in  the  following  paragraph 
from  the  pen  of  Elkanah  Watson,  when  describing  his  visit  at 
Mount  Yernon : 

"  The  first  evening  I  spent  under  the  wing  of  Washington's 
hospitality,  we  sat  a  full  hour  at  table  by  ourselves,  without 
the  least  interruption.  After  the  family  had  retired,  I  was 
extremely  oppressed  by  a  severe  cold  and  excessive  coughing, 
contracted  by  the  exposure  of  a  harsh  winter  journey.  He 
pressed  me  to  use  some  remedies,  but  I  declined  doing  so.  As 
usual  after  retiring,  my  coughing  increased.  When  some  time 
had  elapsed,  the  door  of  my  room  was  gently  opened,  and  on 
drawing  my  bed-curtains,  to  my  utter  astonishment  I  beheld 
Washington  himself  standing  at  my  bedside,  with  a  bowl  of 
hot  tea  in  his  hand.  I  was  mortified  and  distressed  beyond 
expression.  This  little  incident  occurring  in  common  life  with 
an  ordinary  man,  would  not  have  been  noticed ;  but  as  a  trait 
of  the  benevolence  and  private  virtue  of  Washington,  deserves 
to  be  recorded." 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


305 


MOKNING — A   LANDSCAPE   EV 


While   residing  in   Philadelphia,  Washington    became   ac- 
quainted with  the  merits  of  William  Winstanley,  an  English- 


EVEM.NG — A   LANDSCAPE   BY   WIXSTANLET. 


man,  and  landscape  painter,  who  came  to  America  in  1796. 

20 


306  MOUNT    VERNON 

He  was  spoken  of  as  "an  artist  of  genius  and  reputation, 
whose  landscapes  in  oil  are  greatly  admired  by  the  connois- 
seurs." Washington,  pleased  with  some  specimens  of  his  skill 
which  were  brought  to  his  notice,  gave  him  a  commission  to 
paint  six  medium-sized  pictures,  representing  scenery  on  the 
Hudson  River.  These  were  afterward  taken  to  Mount  Vernon, 
and  adorned  the  walls  of  the  drawing-room  there.  Two  of 
these,  called  respectively  Morning  and  Evening,  are  now  at 
Arlington  House.  Two  others  are  in  the  family  of  the  late 
Mrs.  Lewis  (Nelly  Custis) ;  of  the  remaining  two  we  have  no 
intelligence. 

Washington  was  again  awakened  from  his  sweet  dream  of 
peace  and  quietness  in  his  home  on  the  Potomac,  by  the  call 
of  his  country  to  lend  to  it  once  more  his  voice  and  his  arm. 
There  were  signs  of  war  in  the  political  firmament.  France, 
once  the  ally  of  the  United  States,  assumed  the  attitude  of  an 
enemy.  The  king  and  queen  of  that  unhappy  country  had 
been  murdered  at  the  command  of  a  popular  tribunal.  Out 
of  the  anarchy  that  ensued,  had  been  evolved  a  government, 
in  which  supreme  power  was  vested  in  five  men  called  a 
Directory,  who  ruled  in  connection  with  two  chambers,  the 
Council  of  Ancients  and  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred.  It 
was  installed  at  the  Little  Luxembourg,  at  Paris,  on  the 
1st  of  November,  1795,  and  held  the  executive  power  four 
years. 

That  Directory  was  a  most  despotic  tyrant,  and  ruled  with 
an  iron  hand.  Its  pride  disgusted  the  nations,  and  every  true 
friend  of  man  rejoiced  when  it  quailed  before  the  genius  and 
the  bayonets  of  Napoleon. 

Before  Washington  had  left  the  chair  of  state,  the  friendly 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  307 

feeling  between  the  United  States  and  France  had  become 
greatly  weakened.  The  French  Directory  assumed  a  tone  of 
incomparable  insolence,  and  the  American  representatives  in 
Paris  were  insulted.  Three  judicious  men  had  been  sent  to 
adjust  all  difficulties  with  the  French  government.  They  were 
refused  an  audience  with  the  Directory  unless  they  would 
agree  to  pay  a  large  sum  into  the  French  treasury.  "  Millions 
for  defence,  but  not  one  cent  for  tribute !"  said  Charles  Cotes- 
worth  Pinckney,  one  of  the  American  envoys;  and  he  and 
John  Marshall,  another  of  the  envoys,  were  ordered  out  of  the 
country.  This  insult  the  United  States  did  not  choose  to  allow 
to  pass  unheeded,  and  all  diplomatic  intercourse  between  the 
two  governments  was  suspended.  Preparations  were  made 
for  war ;  and  in  May,  1798,  Congress  authorized  the  formation 
of  a  large  military  force,  to  be  called  a  Provisional  Army.  The 
movement  was  popular  with  the  people,  and  with  anxious 
hearts  their  thoughts  turned  instinctively  to  Washington  as 
the  man  for  the  commander-in  chief. 

There  appeared  to  be  a  universal  opinion  that  the  weight  of 
Washington's  name  and  character  would  be  necessary  in  order 
to  produce  unanimity  among  the  military  leaders  that  would 
be  brought  upon  the  stage,  and  to  secure  the  confidence  and 
support  of  the  people. 

Washington,  though  in  absolute  retirement,  had  watched 
the  progress  of  affairs  in  France  with  sorrow  and  indignation, 
and  had  expressed  his  mind  freely  to  his  friends  upon  the 
subject.  President  Adams,  in  the  perplexities  which  the  prog- 
ress of  events  produced,  turned  to  him  for  advice,  and  looked 
to  him  for  aid.  "  I  must  tax  you,"  he  said,  "  sometimes  for 
advice.  We  must  have  your  name,  if  you  will  in  any  case 


308  MOUNT     VERXON 

permit  us  to  use  it.  There  will  be  more  efficacy  in  it  than  in 
many  an  army."  And  before  Washington  could  reply,  Adams 
nominated  to  the  Seriate:  "George  "Washington,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  to  be  lieutenant-general  and  commander-in-chief  of  all 
the  armies  raised  and  to  be  raised  in  the  United  States." 

Already  Mr.  McIIenry,  the  secretary  of  war,  had  written : 
"  You  see  how  the  storm  thickens,  and  that  our  vessel  will 
soon  require  our  ancient  pilot.  Will  you — may  we  flatter 
ourselves  that,  in  a  crisis  so  awful  and  important,  you  will 
accept  the  command  of  all  our  armies?  I  hope  you  will, 
because  you  alone  can  unite  all  hearts  and  all  hands,  if  it  is 
possible  that  they  can  be  united." 

The  Senate  confirmed  the  nomination  of  the  president,  and 
Washington  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  Provi- 
sional Army.  True  to  the  prophecies  and  promises  of  his 
antecedents,  he  accepted  the  trust,  for  his  country  demanded 
his  services,  but  with  the  provision  that  he  should  not  be  re- 
quired to  take  the  field  until  circumstances  should  make  it 
absolutely  necessary. 

"  I  see,  as  you  do,"  he  said  to  McHenry,  "  that  clouds  are 
gathering  and  that  a  storm  may  ensue;  and  I  find,  too,  from  a 
variety  of  hints,  that  my  quiet,  under  these  circumstances,  does 
not  promise  to  be  of  long  continuance.  *  *  *  *  As  my 
whole  life  has  been  dedicated  to  my  country  in  one  shape  or 
another,  for  the  poor  remains  of  it  it  is  not  an  object  to  con- 
tend for  ease  and  quiet,  when  all  that  is  valuable  is  at  stake, 
further  than  to  be  satisfied  that  the  sacrifice  I  should  make  of 
these  is  acceptable  and  desired  by  my  country." 

And  now  there  were  stirring  times  again  at  Mount  Yernon. 
Washington's  post-bag  came  filled  with  a  score  of  letters  some- 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  309 

times,  for  to  him  had  been  entrusted  the  selection  of  officers 
for  the  army,  and  there  were  thousands  of  aspirants  for  places 
of  almost  every  grade.  He  nominated  Colonel  Alexander 
Hamilton  as  first  major-general,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
then  on  his  way  from  France,  the  second,  and  General  Knox 
the  third.  The  subordinate  offices  were  frequently  filled  by 
the  sons  of  his  old  companions  in  arms,  and  several  of  his 
own  family  received  commissions.  Young  Custis,  his  adopted 
son,  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  General  Pinckney,  and 
his  favorite  nephew,  Lawrence  Lewis,  also  received  a  com- 
mission. 

Many  were  the  visitors  who  nocked  to  Mount  Vernon  dur- 
ing the  autumn  of  1798.  A  large  number  of  these  were  army 
officers,  who  went  to  head-quarters  to  consult  with  the  chief 
about  military  affairs  ;  and  General  Pinckney  having  returned, 
was  there  at  Christmas  time.  At  the  same  time  Judge  Gushing, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  who  administered 
the  oath  of  office  to  Washington  at  his  second  inauguration, 
was  also  there. 

"  We  reached  Mount  Vernon,"  wrote  the  wife  of  Judge 
Gushing,  in  February,  1 799,  "  the  evening  before  Christmas, 
and  if  any  thing  could  have  added  to  our  enjoyment,  it  was 
the  arrival  of  General  and  Mrs.  Pinckney  the  next  day  [Tues- 
day], while  we  were  dining.  You  may  be  sure  it  was  a  joyful 
meeting,  and  at  the  very  place  my  wishes  had  pointed  out. 
To  be  in  the  company  of  so  many  esteemed  friends,  to  hear 
our  good  General  Washington  converse  upon  political  subjects 
without  reserve,  and  to  hear  General  and  Mrs.  Pinckney  re- 
late what  they  saw  and  heard  in  France,  was  truly  a  feast  to 
me.  Thus  the  moments  glided  away  for  two  days,  when  our 


310  MOUNT     VERNON 

reason  pointed  out  the  propriety  of  our  departing  and  improv- 
ing the  good  roads,  as  the  snow  and  frost  had  made  them 
better  than  they  are  in  summer." 

The  attitude  assumed  by  the  United  States,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  Washington  at  the  head  of  the  army,  humbled  the 
French  Directory,  and  President  Adams  was  encouraged  to 
send  representatives  to  France  again.  When  they  arrived, 
toward  the  close  of  1799,  the  weak  Directory  were  no  more. 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  at  the  head  of  the  government  as 
first  consul,  and  soon  the  cloud  of  war  that  hung  between 
France  and  the  United  States  was  dissipated. 

We  now  come  to  consider  the  associations  of  Mount  Yernon 
during  the  last  year  of  the  century.  It  opened  with  joy.  it 
closed  with  sorrow. 

Lawrence  Lewis,  son  of  Washington's  sister  Elizabeth,  had 
been  a  resident  at  Mount  Yernon  for  some  time.  We  have 
already  observed,  by  an  expression  in  a  letter  of  Washington 
to  Mr.  McHenry,  that  the  visits  of  strangers  to  Mount  Vernon 
had  become  somewhat  burdensome  to  the  master.  With  this 
feeling  he  wrote  to  Lawrence,  giving  him  a  formal  invitation 
to  reside  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  saying : 

"  As  both  your  aunt  and  I  are  in  the  decline  of  life,  and 
regular  in  our  habits,  especially  in  our  hours  of  rising  and 
going  to  bed,  I  require  some  person  (fit  and  proper)  to  ease  me 
of  the  trouble  of  entertaining  company,  particularly  of  nights, 
as  it  is  my  inclination  to  retire  (and  unless  prevented  by  very 
particular  company,  I  always  do  retire)  either  to  bed  or  to  my 
study  soon  after  candlelight.  In  taking  those  duties  (which 
hospitality  obliges  one  to  bestow  on  company)  off  my  hands,  it 
would  render  me  a  very  acceptable  service."  Lawrence  com- 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  311 

plied  with  the  request  of  his  uncle,  and  became  an  inmate  of 
the  family  at  Mount  Vernon  at  the  beginning  of  1T98. 

Nelly  Custis  was  at  this  time  blooming  into  womanhood, 
and  was  exceedingly  attractive  in  person  and  manners.  She 
was  a  great  favorite  with  her  foster-father,  and  as  she  ap- 
proached marriageable  age,  he  had  indulged  many  anxious 
thoughts  respecting  her.  The  occasional  visits  of  Lawrence 
Lewis  to  Mount  Vernon  had  been  productive  of  the  most 
intimate  friendly  relations  between  them,  and  when  he  became 
a  resident  there,  his  respect  for  Nelly  grew  into  warm  and 
tender  attachment.  Washington  was  pleased ;  but  there  came 
;i  rival,  whose  suit  Mrs.  Washington  decidedly  encouraged. 
That  rival  was  a  son  of  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  who  had 
just  returned  from  Europe,  and  displayed  all  the  accomplish- 
ments of  a  good  education,  adorned  with  the  social  graces 
derived  from  foreign  travel. 

"  1  find  that  young  Mr.  C-  -  has  been  at  Mount  Vernon, 
and,  report  says,  to  address  my  sister,"  wrote  her  brother  to 
Washington,  in  April,  1798,  from  Annapolis,  where  he  was  at 
school.  "It  may  be  well  to  subjoin  an  opinion,"  he  said, 
"  which  I  believe  is  general  in  this  place,  viz.,  that  he  is  a 
young  man  of  the  strictest  probity  and  morals,  discreet  with- 
out closeness,  temperate  without  excess,  and  modest  without 
vanity ;  possessed  of  those  amiable  qualities  and  friendship 
which  are  so  commendable,  and  with  few  of  the  vices  of  the 
age.  In  short,  I  think  it  a  most  desirable  match,  and  wish 
that  it  may  take  place  with  all  my  heart." 

Washington,  who  favored  the  suit  of  his  nephew,  closed 
abruptly  the  correspondence  with  young  Custis  on  that  sub- 
ject, by  saying,  in  a  letter  to  him  a  fortnight  afterward  : 


312  MOUNT    VERNON 

u  Young  Mr.  C-  -  came  here  about  a  fortnight  ago,  to 
dinner,  and  left  us  next  morning  after  breakfast.  If  his  object 
was  such  as  you  say  has  been  reported,  it  \vas  not  declared 
here;  and  therefore  the  less  is  said  upon  the  subject,  particu- 
larly by  your  sister's  friends,  the  more  prudent  it  will  be  until 
the  subject  develops  itself  more." 

In  his  next  letter,  in  reply  to  this,  young  Custis  ventured 
only  to  say  :  "  With  respect  to  what  1  mentioned  of  Mr.  C— 
in  my  last,  I  had  no  other  foundation  but  report,  which  has 
since  been  contradicted."* 

Lawrence  Lewis  triumphed,  yet  the  foster-father  had  some 
time  doubted  respecting  the  result,  for  other  suitors  came  to 
Mount  Yernon,  and  made  their  homage  at  the  shrine  of 
Nelly's  wit  and  beauty. 

"  I  was  young  and  romantic  then,"  she  said  to  a  lady,  from 
whose  lips  Mr.  Irving  has  quoted — "  I  was  young  and  roman- 
tic then,  and  fond  of  wandering  alone  by  moonlight  in  the 
woods  of  Mount  Yernon.  Grandmamma  thought  it  wrong 
and  unsafe,  and  scolded  and  coaxed  me  into  a  promise  that  I 
would  not  wander  in  the  woods  again  unaccompanied.  But  I 
was  missing  one  evening,  and  was  brought  home  from  the 
interdicted  woods  to  the  drawing-room,  where  the  General  was 
walking  up  and  down  with  his  hands  behind  him,  as  was  his 
wont.  Grandmamma,  seated  in  her  great  arm-chair,  opened  a 
severe  reproof." 


*  For  very  interesting  correspondence  between  General  Washington  and  his 
adopted  son,  G.  TV.  P.  Custis,  while  the  latter  was  in  college  at  Princeton  and 
Annapolis,  from  November,  1796,  to  January.  1799,  see  RecoUectiona  ci'id  Private 
Memoirs  of  Washingloni  by  his  adopted  son,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
edited  by  the  author  of  this  work. 


AXD     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  313 

"  Poor  Miss  Nelly,"  says  Mr.  Irving,  "  was  reminded  of  her 
promise,  and  taxed  with  her  delinquency.  She  knew  that  she 
had  done  wrong — admitted  her  fault,  and  essayed  no  excuse ; 
but,  when  there  was  a  slight  pause,  moved  to  retire  from  the 
room.  She  was  just  shutting  the  door  when  she  overheard  the 
General  attempting,  in  a  low  voice,  to  intercede  in  her  behalf. 
'  My  dear,'  observed  he,  '  I  would  say  no  more — perhaps  she 
was  not  alone.' 

"  His  intercession  stopped  Miss  Nelly  in  her  retreat.  She 
reopened  the  door  and  advanced  up  to  the  General  with  a  firm 
step.  '  Sir,'  said  she,  '  you  brought  me  up  to  speak  the  truth, 
and  when  I  told  Grandmamma  I  was  alone,  I  hope  you 
believed  /  was  alone.'' 

"  The  General  made  one  of  his  most  magnanimous  bows. 
'  My  child,'  replied  he,  '  I  beg  your  pardon.'  " 

Lawrence  and  Nelly  were  married  at  Mount  Vernon  on 
Washington's  birthday,  1799.  It  was  Friday,  and  a  bright 
and  beautiful  day.  The  early  spring  flowers  were  budding  in 
the  hedges,  and  the  bluebird,  making  its  way  cautiously  north- 
ward, gave  a  few  joyous  notes  in  the  garden  that  morning. 
The  occasion  was  one  of  great  hilarity  at  Mount  Vernon,  for 
the  bride  was  beloved  by  all,  and  Major  Lewis,  the  bride- 
groom, had  ever  been  near  to  the  heart  of  his  uncle,  since  the 
death  of  his  mother,  who  so  much  resembled  her  illustrious 
brother,  that  when,  in  sport,  she  would  place  a  chapeau  on  her 
head  and  throw  a  military  cloak  over  her  shoulders,  she  might 
easily  have  been  mistaken  for  the  Chief. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  young  bride,  said  her  brother,  that, 
the  general  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  should  wear,  on 
that  occasion,  the  splendidly-embroidered  uniform  whicb  the 


314:  MOUNT     VKRXOX 

board  of  general  officers  had  adopted,  but  Washington  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  appear  in  a  costume  bedizened  with 
tinsel.  He  preferred  the  plain  old  continental  blue  and  buff', 
and  the  modest  black  ribbon  cockade.  Magnificent  white 
plumes,  which  General  Pinckney  had  presented  to  him,  he 
gave  to  the  bride ;  and  to  the  Reverend  Thomas  Davis,  rector 
of  Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  who  performed  the  marriage 
ceremony,  he  presented  an  elegant  copy  of  Mrs.  Macaulay's 
History  of  England,  in  eight  octavo  volumes,  saying,  when  he 
handed  them  to  him  : 

"These,  sir,  were  written  by  a  remarkable  lady,  who  visited 
America  many  years  ago ;  and  here  is  also  her  treatise  on  the 
Immutability  of  Moral  Truth,  which  she  sent  me  just  before 
her  death — read  it  and  return  it  to  me." 

s- 

"With  characteristic  modesty,  Washington  made  no  allusion 
to  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Macaulay  (Catharine  Macaulay  Graham) 
crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the  spring  of  1785,  for  no  other  pur- 
pose, as  she  avowed,  than  to  see  the  great  leader  of  the  Amer- 
ican armies,  whom  she  revered  as  a  second  Moses.  Washing- 
ton thus  alluded  to  her,  in  a  letter  to  General  Knox,  written 
on  the  18th  of  June,  1785  : 

"  Mrs.  Macaulay  Graham,  Mr.  Graham,  and  others,  have 
just  left  us,  after  a  stay  of  about  ten  days.  A  visit  from  a 
lady  so  celebrated  in  the  literary  world  could  not  but  be  very 
flattering  to  me." 

The  year  1799 — the  last  year  of  the  century,  the  last  year 
of  Washington's  life — was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  and  he 
appears  to  have  made  preparations  for  his  departure,  as  if  the 
fact  that  the  summons  from  earth  would  soon  be  presented 
had  been  revealed  to  him.  In  March  he  said,  in  a  letter  to 


AND    ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  315 

Mr.  McIIenry,  after  alluding  to  business  affairs :  "  My  greatest 
anxiety  is  to  have  all  these  concerns  in  such  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct form,  that  no  reproach  may  attach  itself  to  me  when  I 
have  taken  my  departure  for  the  land  of  spirits." 

In  July  he  executed  his  last  will  and  testament.  It  was 
written  entirely  by  himself,  and  at  the  bottom  of  each  page 
of  manuscript  he  signed  his  name.  During  the  autumn  he 
digested  a  complete  system  of  management  for  his  estate  for 
several  succeeding  years,  in  which  were  tables  designating  the 
rotation  of  crops.  This  document  occupied  thirty  folio  pages, 
all  written  in  his  peculiar  and  clear  style.  It  was  completed 
only  four  days  before  his  death,  and  was  accompanied  by  a 
letter,  dated  December  10th,  1799,  to  his  manager  or  steward, 
giving  him  special  directions,  -as  if  the  master  was  about  to 
depart  on  a  journey. 

At  this  time  Washington  wras  in  full  health  and  vigor,  and 
the  beautiful  days  of  a  serene  old  age  were  promised  him.  He 
had  once  said :  "  I  am  of  a  short-lived  family,  and  cannot 
expect  to  remain  very  long  upon  the  earth ;"  yet  now,  at  the 
age  of  almost  sixty-eight,  he  appeared  to  have  full  expectations 
of  octogenarian  honors. 

Only  a  few  days  before  his  death,  he  had  walked  out,  on 
a  cold,  frosty  morning,  with  his  nephew,  Major  Lewis,  and 
pointed  out  his  anticipated  improvements,  especially  showing 
him  the  spot  where  he  intended  to  build  a  new  family  vault. 
"This  change,"  he  said,  "I  shall  make  the  first  of  all,  for  I 
may  require  it  before  the  rest." 

"  "When  I  parted  from  him,"  said  Major  Lewis,  to  James  K. 
Paulding,  "  he  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  front  door,  where  he 
took  leave  of  mvself  and  another.  He  had  taken  his  usual 


316  MOUNT    VERNON 

ride,  and  the  clear  healthy  flush  on  his  cheek  and  his  sprightly 
manner,  brought  the  remark  from  both  of  us  that  we  had 
never  seen  the  general  look  so  well.  I  have  sometimes  thought 
him  decidedly  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw;  and  when 
in  a  lively  mood,  so  full  of  pleasantry,  so  agreeable  to  all 
with  whom  he  associated,  I  could  hardly  realize  that  he  was 
the  same  Washington  whose  dignity  awed  all  who  approached 
him." 

On  the  llth  of  December  Washington  noted  in  his  diary 
that  there  was  wind  and  rain,  and  "  at  night  a  large  circle 
round  the  moon."  This  portent  of  snow  was  truthful,  for  at 
one  o'clock  the  next  day  it  began  to  fall.  It  soon  changed  to 
hail,  and  then  to  rain. 

Washington  had  been  out  on  horseback,  as  usual,  since  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  returned  only  in  time  for  late 
dinner.  Mr.  Lear,  who  was  again  residing  at  Mount  Yernon, 
as  Washington's  secretary  and  business  manager,  carried  some 
letters  to  him  to  frank,  when  he  observed  snow  hanging  to  the 
general's  hair  about  his  neck,  and  expressed  a  fear  that  lie  was 
wet.  "  No,"  Washington  replied,  "  my  great  coat  has  kept  me 
dry;"  and  after  franking  the  letters,  and  observing  that  the 
storm  was  too  heavy  to  send  a  servant  to  the  post-office  that 
evening,  he  sat  down  to  dinner  without  changing  his  damp 
clothes. 

On  the  following  day  (Friday,  the  13th)  the  snow  was  three 
inches  deep  upon  the  ground,  and  still  falling.  Washington 
complained  of  a  sore  throat,  and  the  storm  continuing,  he 
omitted  his  usual  ride.  At  noon  the  clouds  broke,  the  sun 
came  out  clear  and  warm,  and  he  occupied  himself  before 
dinner  in  marking  some  trees,  between  the  mansion  and  the 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  Bi'l 

river,  that  were  to  be  cut  down,  and  with  compass  and  chain 
defining  lines  for  improvements. 

After  dinner  his  hoarseness  grew  worse,  yet  he  regarded  it 
as  nothing  serious.  He  was  very  cheerful  during  the  evening, 
and  sat  in  the  parlor  with  Mrs.  Washington  and  Mr.  Lear, 
amusing  himself  with  the  newspapers,  which  were  brought  in 
at  seven  o'clock,  occasionally  reading  aloud  something  that 
pleased  him,  or  asking  Mr.  Lear  to  do  so,  his  hoarseness  some- 
times depriving  him  of  his  voice.  Among  other  things,  Mr. 
Lear  read  to  him  the  report  of  debates  in  the  Virginia  Assem- 
bly, and  Washington  made  comments,  as  well  as  his  hoarseness 
would  permit. 

About  nine  o'clock  Mrs.  Washington  left  the  parlor,  and 
went  to  the  chamber  of  Mrs.  Lewis,  who  was  confined,  and  the 
general  and  Mr.  Lear  continued  the  perusal,  of  the  papers  some 
time  afterward.  When  he  retired,  Mr.  Lear  suggested  that  he 
had  better  take  something  for  his  cold,  his  hoarseness  appear- 
ing to  increase.  "  No,"  he  answered,  "  you  know  I  never  take 
any  thing  for  a  cold.  Let  it  go  as  it  came." 

Between  two  and  three  o'clock  the  next  morning  he  awoke 
Mrs.  Washington,  told  her  that  he  was  very  ill,  and  had  had 
an  ague.  He  was  so  hoarse  that  he  could  scarcely  speak.  He 
breathed  with  great  difficulty,  and  Mrs.  Washington  proposed 
to  get  up  and  call  a  servant,  but  the  tender  husband  would 
not  permit  her  to  do  so,  lest  she  should  take  cold.  At  day- 
light their  chambermaid,  Caroline,  went  into  the  room  to 
make  a  fire,  as  usual,  when  Mrs.  Washington  sent  her  for  Mr. 
Lear.  That  gentleman  dressed  himself  quickly,  and,  on  going 
to  the  general's  room,  found  him  breathing  with  great  diffi- 
culty, and  hardly  able  to  utter  a  word  intelligibly. 


318 


MOUNT     V K  R  N  0  X 


Washington  desired  Mr.  Lear  to  send  immediately  for  Mr. 
Rawlins,  one  of  the  overseers,  to  come  and  bleed  him,  while 
another  servant  was  dispatched  to  Alexandria  for  Dr.  Craik, 

the  sufferer's  life-long  friend  and 
his  family  physician.  Some  mix- 
tures were  prepared  to  give  im- 
mediate relief,  but  he  could  not 
swallow  a  drop. 

Rawlins  came  soon  after  sun- 
rise. He  was  much  agitated. 
Washington  perceived  it,  and 
said,  "Don't  be  afraid."  A  slight 
incision  was  made  in  the  arm, 
for  Mrs.  Washington,  doubtful 
whether  bleeding  was  proper  in 
the  case,  begged  that  not  much 
blood  might  be  taken.  The  blood 
ran  pretty  freely,  but  the  general 
whispered,  "The  orifice  is  not 
large  enough ;"  and  when  Mr.  Lear  was  about  to  loosen  the 
bandage  to  stop  the  bleeding,  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton, he  put  his  hand  up  to  prevent  it,  and  said,  "  More,  more." 
About  half  a  pint  of  blood  was  taken  from  him,  and  external 
applications  were  made,  but  nothing  seemed  to  relieve  the 
sufferer. 

At  eight  o'clock  Washington  expressed  a  desire  to  get  up. 
His  clothes  were  put  on,  and  he  was  led  to  a  chair  by  the  fire. 
But  he  found  no  relief  in  that  position,  and  at  ten  o'clock  he 
lay  down  again. 

Mrs.  Washington  had  become  much  alarmed,  and  before  Dr. 


DR.    JAMES   CRAIK. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  319 

Craik  arrived,  she  desired  Mr.  Lear  to  send  for  Dr.  Brown,  of 
Port  Tobacco,  whom  Craik  had  recommended  to  be  called  if 
any  alarming  sickness  should  occur  during  his  absence.  At 
about  nine  o'clock  Dr.  Craik  arrived.  He  at  once  took  more . 
blood  from  the  general,  put  a  blister  on  his  throat,  prepared  a 
gargle  of  vinegar  and  sage  tea,  and  ordered  some  vinegar  and 
hot  water  for  him  to  inhale  the  steam  of.  The  gargle  almost 
suffocated  him.  A  little  phlegm  was  brought  up  with  it,  and 
he  attempted  to  cough,  but  was  unable  to  do  so. 

At  eleven  o'clock  Dr.  Craik  requested  Dr.  Dick,  with  whom 
he  often  consulted,  to  be  sent  for,  as  Dr.  Brown  might  not 
come  in  time.  He  then  bled  the  general  again,  but  no  effect 
was  produced  by  it.  His  inability  to  swallow  any  thing  con- 
tinued. At  three  o'clock  Dr.  Dick  arrived,  and  after  consulta- 
tion with  him,  Dr.  Craik  again  bled  the  sufferer.  The  blood 
was  thick,  and  flowed  very  sluggishly.  Dr.  Brown  arrived 
soon  afterward,  and  after  the  three  physicians  had  held  a  brief 
consultation,  Dr.  Craik  administered  calomel  and  tartar  emetic, 
which  the  general  managed  to  swallow.  But  this  too  was 
without  effect. 

"About  half-past  four  o'clock,"  says  Mr.  Lear,  in  a  narra- 
tive which  he  wrote  at  the  time,  "  he  desired  me  to  call  Mrs. 
Washington  to  his  bedside,  when  he  requested  her  to  go  down 
into  his  room,  and  take  from  his  desk  two  wills  which  she 
would  find  there,  and  bring  them  to  him,  which  she  did. 
Upon  looking  at  them  he  gave  her  one,  which  he  observed  was 
useless,  as  being  superseded  by  the  other,  and  desired  her  to 
burn  it,  which  she  did,  and  took  the  other  and  put  it  into  her 
closet. 

"After  this  was  done,  I  returned  to  his  bedside  and  took  his 


320  MOUNT     VERNON 

hand.  He  said  to  me  :  '  I  find  I  am  going.  My  breath  can- 
not last  long.  I  believed  from  the  first  that  the  disorder 
would  prove  fatal.  Do  you  arrange  and  record  all  my  late 
military  letters  and  papers.  Arrange  my  accounts  and  settle 
my  books,  as  you  know  more  about  them  than  any  one  else, 
and  let  Mr.  Rawlins  finish  recording  my  other  letters  which  he 
has  begun.'  I  told  him  this  should  be  done.  He  then  asked 
if  I  recollected  any  thing  which  it  was  essential  for  him  to  do, 
as  he  had  but  a  very  short  time  to  continue  with  us.  I  told 
him  that  I  could  recollect  nothing,  but  that  I  hoped  he  was 
not  so  near  his  end.  He  observed,  smiling,  that  he  certainly 
was,  and  that,  as  it  was  a  debt  we  must  all  pay,  he  looked  to 
the  event  with  perfect  resignation. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  he  appeared  to  be  in  great 
pain  and  distress  from  the  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  fre- 
quently changed  his  posture  in  the  bed.  On  these  occasions  I 
lay  upon  the  bed  and  endeavored  to  raise  him,  and  turn  him 
with  as  much  ease  as  possible.  He  appeared  penetrated  with 
gratitude  for  my  attentions,  and  often  said,  'I  am  afraid  I 
shall  fatigue  you  too  much ;'  and  upon  my  assuring  him  that 
I  could  feel  nothing  but  a  wish  to  give  him  ease,  he  replied, 
'  Well,  it  is  a  debt  we  must  pay  to  each  other,  and  I  hope 
when  you  want  aid  of  this  kind  you  will  find  it.' ': 

Washington  then  inquired  when  Mr.  Lewis  and  Washington 
Custis,  who  were  in  New  Kent,  would  return;  and  being  told, 
he  remained  silent  awhile,  and  then  desired  his  servant,  Chris- 
topher, who  had  been  in  the  room  all  day,  to  sit  down,  for  he 
had  been  standing  most  of  the  time.  He  did  so.  A  few 
minutes  afterward  Dr.  Oraik  came  into  the  room,  and  as  he 
approached  the  bedside,  Washington  said  to  him :  "  Doctor,  I 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  321 

die  hard,  but  I  am  not  afraid  to  go.  I  believed,  from  my  first 
attack,  that  I  should  not  survive  it.  My  breath  cannot  last 
long."  The  doctor,  overcome  with  emotion,  pressed  his  hand, 
but  could  not  utter  a  word.  He  left  the  bedside,  and,  in  deep 
grief,  sat  by  the  fire  for  some  time,  while  all  was  silent  in  the 
room,  except  the  heavy  breathing  of  the  sufferer. 

Doctors  Dick  and  Brown  came  into  the  room  between  five 
and  six  o'clock,  when  they  and  Dr.  Craik  went  to  the  bedside 
and  asked  Washington  if  he  could  sit  up  in  bed.  He  held  out 
his  hand  and  Mr.  Lear  raised  him  up.  "  I  feel  myself  going," 
he  said ;  "  I  thank  you  for  your  attentions ;  but  I  pray  you 
take  no  more  trouble  about  me.  Let  me  go  off  quickly.  I 
cannot  last  long."  Then  casting  a  look  of  gratitude  toward  Mr. 
Lear,  he  lay  down,  and  all  left  the  bedside  except  Dr.  Craik. 

Mr.  Lear  now  wrote  to  Mr.  Law  and  Mr.  Peter,  gentlemen 
who  had  married  two  granddaughters  of  Mrs.  Washington 
(sisters  of  Nelly  Custis),  requesting  them  to  come  immediately, 
with  their  wives,  to  Mount  Vernon.  At  about  eight  o'clock 
the  physicians  tried  other  outward  applications  to  relieve  the 
sufferer,  but  in  vain,  and  they  left  the  room  without  any  hope. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  Washington  attempted  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Lear,  but  failed  several  times.  At  length  he  murmured:  "I 
am  just  going.  Have  me  decently  buried  ;  and  do  not  let  my 
body  be  put  into  the  vault  in  less  than  three  days  after  I  am 
dead."  Mr.  Lear  could  not  speak,  but  bowed  his  assent. 
Washington  whispered,  "  Do  you  understand  ?"  Lear  replied, 
"  Yes."  "  'Tis  well,"  he  said ;  and  these  were  the  last  words 
he  ever  spoke — "  ' Tis  well  /" 

"About   ten   minutes   before   he   expired,"   says   Mr.  Lear 
("  which  was  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock),  his  breathing 
21 


322  MOUNT    VERNON 

became  easier.  He  lay  quietly ;  he  withdrew  his  hand  from 
mine  and  felt  his  own  pulse.  I  saw  his  countenance  change. 
I  spoke  to  Dr.  Craik,  who  sat  by  the  fire.  He  came  to  the 
bedside.  The  general's  hand  fell  from  his  wrist.  I  took  it  in 
mine  and  pressed  it  to  my  bosom.  Dr.  Craik  put  his  hands 
over  his  eyes,  and  he  expired  without  a  struggle  or  a  sigh. 

"  While  we  were  fixed  in  silent  grief,  Mrs.  Washington,  who 
was  sitting  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  asked,  with  a  firm  and  col- 
lected voice.  ' Is  he  gone?'  I  could  not  speak,  but  held  up  my 
hand  as  a  signal  that  he  was  no  more.  '  'Tis  well,'  said  she,  in 
the  same  voice,  '  all  is  now  over ;  I  shall  soon  follow  him ;  I 
have  no  more  trials  to  pass  through.' " 

"  It  may  be  asked,"  says  Mr.  Custis,  "  why  was  the  ministry 
of  religion  wanting  to  shed  its  peaceful  and  benign  lustre  upon 
the  last  hours  of  Washington?  Why  was  he,  to  whom  the 
observances  of  sacred  things  were  ever  primary  duties  through 
life,  without  their  consolations  in  his  last  moments?  We  an- 
swer, circumstances  did  not  permit.  It  was  but  for  a  little 
while  that  the  disease  assumed  so  threatening  a  character  as  to 
forbid  the  encouragement  of  hope ;  yet,  to  stay  that  summons 
which  none  may  refuse,  to  give  still  farther  length  of  days  to 
him  whose  time-honored  life  was  so  dear  to  mankind,  prayers 
were  not  wanting  to  the  throne  of  grace.  Close  to  the  couch  of 
the  sufferer,  resting  her  head  upon  that  ancient  book,  with 
which  she  had  been  wont  to  hold  pious  communion  a 
portion  of  every  day  for  more  than  half  a  century,  was  the 
venerable  consort,  absorbed  in  silent  prayer,  and  from  which 
she  only  arose  when  the  mourning  group  prepared  to  lead  her 
from  the  chamber  of  the  dead." 

That  chamber,  ever  held  sacred  by  the  Washington  family, 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS. 


323 


and  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  curious  visitor,  appears 
now,  in  form  and  feature,  precisely  as  when  the  spirit  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country  took  its  departure  from  it.  Not  a 
vestige  of  the  furniture  that  was  there  at  the  time  of  Washing- 
ton's death,  remains.  The  bed  and  bedstead  on  which  he  died 
are  at  Arlington  House,  where  they,  too,  are  kept  as  not  only 
precious  but  sacred  mementos  of  the  great  and  good  Wash- 
ington. 


BED    AND    BEDSTEAD   ON    WHICH    WASHINGTON    DIED. 

The  bedstead  is  made  of  mahogany,  and  was  manufactured 
in  New  York  in  1789.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  size,  being  six 
feet  square.  It  was  in  constant  use  in  the  bed-chamber  of 
General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  from  the  time  of  its  manufac- 
ture until  his  death.  The  bed  and  bedding  remain  in  precisely 


324 


MOUNT     VERNON 


the  same  condition  as  when  Washington  was  borne  from  his 
Chamber  to  his  tomb. 

The  room  in  which  Washington  died  has  seldom  been  seen 
by  visitors  at  Mount  Yernon.  While  enjoying  the  hospitali- 
ties of  the  late  proprietor  for  two  or  three  days,  I  was  permit- 
ted to  enter  and  sketch  it.  It  was  used  as  a  private  ch amber 
by  the  heads  of  the  family.  Empty,  it  presents  the  same 
appearance  it  did  at  Washington's  death,  and  so  I  delineated 
it.  Two  doors  open  from  it  into  other  chambers,  and  one  to 
stairs  that  lead  to  the  garret. 


KOO.M    IX    WHICH    WASHINGTON    DIED. 


As  I  stood  alone  in  that  death-chamber  of  the  illustrious 
Washington,  fancy  seemed  to  fill  it  with  those  who  occupied  it 
on  Saturday  night,  the  14th  of  December,  1799,  mentioned  in 
a  memorandum  by  Mr.  Lear.  On  the  bed  lay  the  great  man 
at  the  sublime  moment  of  his  death.  Near  the  bed  stood  Mr 
Lear  and  Dr.  Craik.  "  Mrs.  Washington  was  sitting  near  the 
foot  of  the  bed.  Christopher  was  standing  near  the  bedside 
Caroline,  Molly,  and  Charlotte  (house-servants)  were  in  the 
room,  standing  near  the  door.  Mrs.  Forbes,  the  housekeeper, 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  325 

was  in  the  room  likewise."  And  as  I  stood  there,  delineating 
the  simple  outlines  of  that  chamber,  the  words  of  Wallace 
came  vividly  to  my  memory  : 

"  There  is  an  awful  stillness  in  the  sky 
When,  after  wondrous  deeds  and  light  supreme, 
A  star  goes  out  in  golden  prophecy. 
There  is  an  awful  stillness  in  the  world, 
When,  after  wondrous  deeds  and  light  supreme, 
A  hero  dies  with  all  the  future  clear 
Before  him,  and  his  voice  made  jubilant 
By  coming  glories,  and  his  nation  hush'd 
As  though  they  heard  the  farewell  of  a  god — 
A  great  man  is  to  earth  as  God  to  heaven." 

No  one,  except  Mrs.  Washington,  mourned  more  sincerely 
at  the  deathbed  of  the  great  patriot  than  Dr.  Craik,  a  gen- 
erous, warm-hearted  Scotchman,  and  excellent  physician,  who 
settled  in  Virginia  in  early  life,  was  with  Washington  in  the 
campaigns  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  was  his  friend  and  medical  adviser  for  more  than 
forty  years.  Twice  he  accompanied  Washington  to  the  Ohio 
country,  the  first  time  in  1770,  and  the  second  time  in  1785. 
He  continued  to  reside  in  Alexandria  until  old  age  caused  him 
to  relinquish  his  profession,  when  he  retired  with  a  competent 
fortune  to  Vaucluse,  a  part  of  the  Ravensworths'  estate,  where 
lie  died  in  1814,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  He  was 
exceedingly  vigorous,  in  mind  and  body,  until  the  last.  His 
grandson,  the  Reverend  James  Craik,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  silhouette  likeness  of  Dr.  Craik, 
printed  on  page  318,  says,  in  a  recent  letter  to  me: 

"  He  was  a  stout,  thickset  man,  perfectly  erect,  no  stoop  of 
the  shoulders,  and  no  appearance  of  debility  in  his  carriage. 


326  MOUNT     VERNON 

Not  long  before  his  death  he  ran  a  race  with  me  (^then  about 
eight  years  old)  in  the  front  yard  of  the  house  at  Vaucluse, 
before  the  assembled  family." 

At  midnight  the  body  of  General  Washington  was  brought 
down  from  the  chamber  of  death,  and  laid  out  in  the  large 
drawing-room,  in  front  of  the  superb  Italian  chimney-piece, 
delineated  on  page  172 — a  work  of  art  which  the  master  had 
feared,  "  by  the  number  of  cases "  which  contained  it,  would 
be  "too  elegant  and  costly"  for  his  "room,  and  republican 
style  of  living ;"  and  on  the  following  day  (Sunday)  a  plain 
mahogany  coffin  was  procured  from  Alexandria,  and  mourning 
ordered  for  the  family,  the  overseers,  and  the  domestics.  On 
the  same  day  several  of  the  relatives  who  had  been  sent  for 
arrived,  among  whom  was  Mrs.  Stuart,  the  mother  of  Mrs. 
Washington's  grandchildren. 

At  the  head  of  the  coffin  was  placed  an  ornament  inscribed 
SURGE  AD  JUDICUM.  At  about  the  middle  were  the  words 
GLORIA  DEO  ;  and  upon  a  silver  plate  was  the  record : 

GENERAL 

GEORGE   WASHINGTON 

DEPARTED   THIS    LIFE   ON    THE    14rTH    DECEMBER, 
1799,    JET.    68. 

The  coffin  was  lined  with  lead,  and  upon  a  cover  of  the 
same  material,  to  be  put  on  after  the  coffin  was  laid  in  the 
vault,  was  a  silver  shield,  nearly  three  inches  in  length,  in- 
scribed : 

GEORGE    WASHINGTON, 

BORN   FEB.    22,    1732, 
DIED   DECEMBER    14,    1799. 


GEORGEWASHINGTON 
BOKNrEB:.22.1732  i 
DIED  DEC?  I*.  1799 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS  327 

The  time  for  the  funeral  was  fixed  at  twelve  o'clock  on 
Wednesday,  the  18th,  and  the  Reverend  Mr.  Davis,  of  Alex- 
andria, was  invited  to  perform  the  burial 
service,  according  to  the  beautiful  ritual 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

Having  received  information  from  Alex- 
andria that  the  military  and  Freemasons 
were  desirous  of  showing  their  respect  for 
their  chief  and  brother,  by  following  his 
body  to  the  grave,  Mr.  Lear  ordered  pro-  SILVEE  sm^  oy  WASHING. 
visions  to  be  prepared  for  a  large  number 
of  people,  as  some  refreshment  would  be  expected  by  them. 
And  Mr.  Robert  Hamilton,  of  Alexandria,  wrote  to  Mr.  Lear, 
that  a  schooner  of  his  would  anchor  off  Mount  Yernon  to  fire 
minute  guns,  while  the  body  was  passing  from  the  mansion  to 
the  tomb. 

The  arrangements  for  the  procession  at  the  funeral  were 
made  by  Colonels  Little,  Simms,  and  Deneale,  and  Dr.  Dick. 
The  old  family  vault  was  opened  and  cleaned,  and  Mr.  Lear 
ordered  an  entrance  door  to  be  made  for  it,  that  it  might  not 
be  again  closed  with  brick.  Mr.  Stewart,  adjutant  of  the 
Alexandria  regiment,  of  which  "Washington  had  once  been 
colonel,  went  down  to  Mount  Yernou  to  view  the  ground  for 
the  procession. 

The  people  began  to  collect  at  Mount  Vernon  on  Wednes- 
day, at  eleven  o'clock,  but  owing  to  a  delay  of  the  military, 
the  time  for  the  procession  was  postponed  until  three  o'clock. 
The  coffined  body  of  the  illustrious  patriot  lay,  meanwhile, 
beneath  the,  grand  piazza  of  the  mansion,  where  he  had  so 
often  walked  and  mused. 


328  MOUNT     VERNON 

Between  three  and  four  o'clock  the  procession  moved,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  minute  guns  were  fired  from  the  schooner 
anchored  in  the  Potomac.  The  pall-bearers  were  Colonels 
Little,  Simms,  Payne,  Gilpin,  Ramsay,  and  Marsteler.  Colonel 
Blackburn  preceded  the  corpse.  Colonel  Deneale  marched 
with  the  military.  The  procession  moved  out  through  the 
gate  at  the  left  wing  of  the  house,  and  proceeded  round  in 
front  of  the  lawn,  and  down  to  the  vault  on  the  right  wing  of 
the  house.  The  following  was  the  composition  and  order  of 
the  procession : 

The  troops,  horse  and  foot,  with  arms  reversed. 

Music. 
The  clergy,  namely,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Davis, 

Muir,  Moffat,  and  Addison. 

The  general's  horse,  with  his  saddle,  holsters,  and  pistols, 

led  by  two  grooms  (Cyrus,  and  Wilson),  in  black. 

The  body,  borne  by  the  Masons  and  officers. 

Principal  mourners,  namely, 

Mrs.  Stuart  and  Mrs.  Law, 

Misses  Nancy  and  Sally  Stuart, 

Miss  Fairfax  and  Miss  Dennison, 

Mr.  Law  and  Mr.  Peter, 

Mr.  Lear  and  Dr.  Craik, 

Lord  Fairfax  and  Ferdinando  Fairfax. 

Lodge  No.  23. 
Corporation  of  Alexandria. 
All  other  persons,  preceded  by  Mr.  Anderson 
and  the  overseers. 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  329 

When  the  body  arrived  near  the  vault,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lawn,  on  the  high  bank  of  the  Potomac,  the  cavalry  halted ; 
the  infantry  moved  forward  and  formed  the  in-lining;  the 
Masonic  brethren  and  citizens  descended  to  the  vault,  and  the 
funeral  services  of  the  church  were  read  by  the  Keverend  Mr. 
Davis.  He  also  pronounced  a  short  discourse.  The  Masons 
then  performed  their  peculiar  ceremonies,  and  the  body  was 
deposited  in  the  vault.  Three  general  discharges  of  arms  were 
then  given  by  the  infantry  and  the  cavalry  ;  and  eleven  pieces 
of  artillery,  which  were  ranged  back  of  the  vault  and  simulta- 
neously discharged,  "  paid  the  last  tribute  to  the  entombed 
commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States."  The 
sun  was  now  setting,  and  mournfully  that  funeral  assembly 
departed  for  their  respective 
homes. 

The  bier  upon  which  Wash 
ington  was  conveyed  from  the 

mansion    tO    the    tomb,    is    pre-  WASHINGTON'S  BIER. 

served  in  the  museum  at  Alexandria.  It  is  oak,  six  feet  in 
length,  and  painted  a  lead  color.  The  handles,  which  are 
hinged  to  the  bier,  have  leather  pads  on  the  under  side,  fast- 
ened with  brass  nails. 

The  vault  in  which  the  remains  of  Washington  were  laid, 
had  already  become  dilapidated  by  the  action  of  the  growing 
roots  of  the  trees  around  it,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  Washington, 
in  contemplation  of  the  immediate  construction  of  a  new  one, 
had  chosen  a  place  for  it.  In  his  will  he  left  the  following 
directions : 

"  The  family  vault  at  Mount  Yernon  requiring  repairs,  and 
being  improperly  situated  besides,  I  desire  that  a  new  one,  of 


330 


MOUNT     VERNON 


brick,  and  upon  a  larger  scale,  may  be  built  at  the  foot  of 
what  is  called  the  Vineyard  Enclosure,  on  the  ground  which  is 
marked  out,  in  which  my  remains,  and  those  of  my  deceased 
relatives  (now  in  the  old  vault),  and  such  others  of  my  family 
as  may  choose  to  be  entombed  there,  may  be  deposited." 


THE   OLD   VAULT   IN    1858. 


For  thirty  years  the  remains  of  Washington  lay  undisturbed 
in  the  old  vault,  when  the  tomb  was  entered  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  carry  away  the  bones  of  the  illustrious  dead. 
Others  were  taken  by  mistake,  and  the  robber  being  detected, 
thev  were  recovered.  A  new  vault  was  soon  afterward  erected 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  331 

upon  the  spot  designated  by  Washington,  and  the  old  one  is 
now  a  gaping  ruin. 

Congress  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  when  information 
of  the  death  of  Washington  reached  them  on  the  day  of  his 
funeral.  On  the  following  day  the  announcement  of  it  was 
formally  made  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
by  the  Honorable  John  Marshall,  of  Virginia  (afterward  chief- 
justice  of  the  United  States),  and  after  some  appropriate 
action,  the  House  adjourned. 

On  Monday,  the  23d  of  December,  the  Congress  adopted 
joint  resolutions— -first,  that  a  marble  monument  should  be 
erected  at  the  capitol ;  second,  that  there  should  be  "  a  funeral 
procession  from  Congress  Hall  to  the  German  Lutheran  Church, 
in  memory  of  General  George  Washington,  on  Thursday,  the 
26th  instant,"  and  that  an  oration  be  prepared  at  the  request 
of  Congress,  to  be  delivered  before  both  Houses  that  day  ;  and 
that  the  president  of  the  Senate,  and  the  speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  be  desired  to  request  one  of  the  members 
of  Congress  to  prepare  and  deliver  the  same ;  third,  that  the 
people  of  the  United  States  should  be  recommended  to  wear 
crape  on  their  left  arm  as  mourning  for  thirty  days ;  fourth, 
that  the  president  of  the  United  States  should  direct  a  copy 
of  the  resolutions  to  be  transmitted  to  Mrs.  Washington,  with 
words  of  condolence,  and  a  request  that  her  husband's  remains- 
might  be  interred  at  the  capitol  of  the  republic. 

On  the  30th  of  December  Congress  further  resolved,  that  it 
should  be  recommended  to  the  people  of  the  Union  to  assem- 
ble on  the  succeeding  22d  of  February,  "  to  testify  their  grief 
by  suitable  eulogies,  orations,  and  discourses,  or  by  public 
prayers." 


332 


MOUNT     V  E  R  X  0  N 


(.K.NKKAI.     IILNKV     l.th. 


In  accordance  with  one  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  General 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  then  a  member  of  Congress,  was  in- 
vited to  pronounce  an  oration  on  the  26th.  He  consented,  and 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  Fourth  street,  above  Arch,  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  largest  in  the  city,  was  crowded  on  that  occasion. 
No  man  in  the  Congress  could  have  been  chosen  better  fitted 
for  the  service  than  General  Lee.  He  had  served  his  country 
nobly  as  an  officer  of  cavalry  during  the  war  for  independence, 
and  from  boyhood  had  been  a  special  favorite  of  Washington. 
He  was  a  son  of  that  "  Lowland  Beauty"  who  won  the  heart  of 
young  Washington,  and  drew  sentimental  verses  from  his  pen. 
Throughout  the  war  he  was  beloved  by  his  chief  for  his  manly 
and  soldierly  qualities,  and  he  was  an  ever  welcome  guest  at 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS.  333 

Mount  Vernon,  where  he  was  on  terms  of  the  greatest  intimacy 
with  Washington  and  his  family.  Mr.  Irving  gives  the  follow- 
ing example  of  Lee's  perfect  familiarity  with  his  chief,  when 
on  a  visit  at  Mount  Vernon  after  the  war : 

"  Washington  one  day  at  table  mentioned  his  being  in  want 
of  carriage-horses,  and  asked  Lee  if  he  knew  where  he  could 
get  a  pair. 

"  '  I  have  a  fine  pair,  General,'  replied  Lee,  '  but  you  cannot 
get  them." 

"'Why  not?' 

" '  Because  you  will  never  pay  more  than  half  price  for 
any  thing  ;  and  I  must  have  full  price  for  my  horses.' 

"The  bantering  reply  set  Mrs.  Washington  laughing,  and 
her  parrot,  perched  beside  her,  joined  in  the  laugh.  The 
general  took  this  familiar  assault  upon  his  dignity,  in  good 
part.  'Ah,  Lee,  you  are  a  funny  fellow,'  he  said — 'see,  that 
bird  is  laughing  at  you.' " 

Lee's  oration  on  the  death  of  Washington,  though  hastily 
prepared,  was  an  admirable  production :  and  in  it  he  pro- 
nounced those  remarkable  words  of  eulogy,  so  often  quoted  : 

"  FIRST    IK    WAR,  FIRST    IN    PEACE,  FIRST    IX    THE    HEARTS    OF 
HIS    COUNTRYMEN." 

On  that  occasion,  the  McPhenson's  Blues,  a  military  corps 
of  Philadelphia,  composed  of  three  hundred  young  men,  the 
elite  of  the  city,  performed  the  duties  of  a  guard  of  honor. 
Only  six  of  them,  who  were  present  on  that  occasion,  now 
(August,  1859)  survive,  namely :  Samuel  Breck,  aged  eighty- 
eight  ;  S.  Palmer,  aged  seventy-nine  ;  S.  F.  Smith,  aged  seventy- 


334 


MOUNT     VERNON 


nine ;  Charles  N.  Bancker,  aged  eighty-three ;  Quintin  Camp- 
bell, aged  eighty-three,  and  John  F.  Wat- 
son, the  annalist  of  Philadelphia  and 
New  York,  aged  eighty. 

President  Adams  transmitted  the  reso- 
lutions of  Congress  to  Mrs.  Washington, 
and  in  reply  to  their  request  concerning 
the  remains  of  her  husband,  she  said  : 

"  Taught  by  the  great  example  which 
I  have  so  long  had  before  me,  never  to 
oppose  my  private  wishes  to  the  public 
will,  I  must  consent  to  the  request  made 
by  Congress,  which  you  have  the  good- 
ness to  transmit  to  me ;  and  in  doing 
this,  I  need  not,  I  cannot  say,  what  a 
sacrifice  of  individual  feeling  I  make  to 
a  sense  of  public  duty." 

The  remains  of  Washington  have  never 
been  removed  from  his  beloved  Mount 
Vernon.  It  is  well.  They  never  should 
be.  The  HOME  and  the  TOMB  of  our 
illustrious  Friend,  should  be  inseparable ;  and  the  glowing  words 
of  LUNT  should  express  the  sentiment  of  every  American : — 

"  Ay,  leave  him  alone  to  sleep  forever, 

Till  the  strong  archangel  calls  for  the  dead, 
By  the  verdant  bank  of  that  rushing  river, 
"Where  first  they  pillowed  his  mighty  head. 

"  Lowly  may  be  the  turf  that  covers 

The  sacred  grave  of  his  last  repose ; 
But,  oh  I  there's  a  glory  round  it  hovers, 

Broad  as  the  daybreak,  and  bright  as  its  close. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  335 

"  Though  marble  pillars  were  reared  above  him, 

Temples  and  obelisks,  rich  and  rare — 
Better  he  dwells  in  the  hearts  that  love  him, 
Cold  and  lone  as  he  slumbers  there. 

"Why  should  ye  gather  with  choral  numbers? 

Why  should  your  thronging  thousands  come  ? 
Who  will  dare  to  invade  his  slumbers, 
Or  take  him  away  from  his  narrow  home  ? 

"  Well  he  sleeps  in  the  majesty, 

Silent  and  stern,  of  awful  death  ! 
And  he  who  visits  him  there,  should  be 

Alone  with  God,  and  his  own  hushed  breath. 

"  Revel  and  pomp  would  profane  his  ashes: 

And  may  never  a  sound  be  murmured  there 
But  the  glorious  river  that  by  him  dashes, 

And  the  pilgrim's  Voice  in  his  heartfelt  prayer." 


The  death  of  her  husband,  so  sudden  and  unexpected, 
weighed  heavily  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  Mrs.  Washing- 
fon  for  a  time,  but  her  natural  cheerfulness  of  disposition  and 
habitual  obedience  to  the  will  of  God  manifested  in  his  dispen- 
sations, healed  the  wound  and  supported  her  burdened  spirit. 
She  received  many  letters  and  visits  of  condolence.  The  pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  and  his  wife  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adams) 
visited  Mount  Yernon  for  the  purpose,  and  so  also  did  many 
distinguished  citizens.  From  every  part  of  the  land  came 
testimonials  of  respect  and  veneration  for  the  dead ;  and  from 
beyond  the  Atlantic  she  received  gratifying  evidences  of  the 
profound  esteem  in  which  her  beloved  husband  was  held.  On 
hearing  of  his  death,  Lord  Bridport,  who  was  in  command  of 
a  British  fleet  of  almost  sixty  sail,  at  Torbay,  ordered  every 
ship  to  lower  her  flag  to  half-mast ;  and  Bonaparte,  then  First 


336  MOUNT     VKRNON 

Consul  of  France,  announced  his  death  to  his  army,  and  or- 
dered black  crape  to  be  suspended  from  all  the  flags  and 
standards  in  the  French  service  for  ten  days. 

The  domestic  establishment  at  Mount  Vernon  was  kept  up 
after  the  death  of  the  General,  upon  the  same  liberal  scale  of 
hospitality  that  marked  it  during  his  lifetime ;  and  scores  of 
pilgrims  to  the  tomb  of  the  Hero,  Patriot  and  Sage,  were 
entertained  by  the  widow.  But  her  prediction  at  the  death-bed 
of  her  husband — "I  shall  soon  follow  him" — did  not  remain 
long  unfulfilled.  Two  years  and  a  half  afterward,  her  body 
was  laid  in  a  leaden  coffin  by  his  side,  in  the  vault.  She  died 
of  a  bilious  fever,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1802  ;  and  the  estate 
of  Mount  Vernon  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  General's 
nephew,  pursuant  to  the  following  clause  in  his  will : 

"  To  my  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,  and  his  heirs  (partly 
in  consideration  of  an  intimation  made  to  his  deceased  father, 
while  we  were  bachelors,  and  he  had  kindly  undertaken  to  super- 
intend my  estate  during  my  military  service  in  the  former  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  France,  that  if  I  should  fall  therein, 
Mount  Vernon,  then  less  extensive  in  domain  than  at  present, 
should  become  his  property),  I  give  and  bequeath  all  that  part 
thereof  which  is  comprehended  within  the  following  limits: 
[here  the  boundaries  are  specified]  containing  upward  of  four 
thousand  acres,  be  the  same  more  or  less,  together  with  the 
mansion  house,  and  all  other  buildings  and  improvements 
thereon."  He  also  bequeathed  to  Bushrod  his  "library  of 
books  and  pamphlets,"  and  all  of  his  papers. 

This  principal  heir  of  Washington  (who  had  no  children) 
was  a  son  of  the  General's  brother,  George  Augustine,  and 
was  at  that  time  about  forty  years  of  age.  Two  years  before 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


337 


, 


BUSHROD    WASHINGTON. 


Washington's  death,  President  Adams  had  appointed  Bushrod 
to  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  he  performed  the  duties  of  his  exalted  station  with 
eminent  ability  until  his  death,  thirty-two  years  afterward. 

Judge  Washington  took  possession  of  the  Mount  Yernon  es- 
tate, immediately  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Washington.  Among 
the  slaves  that  belonged  to  him,  and  who  were  taken  to  Mount 
Fernon  at  that  time,  only  one  is  living.  Although  set  free  by 
the  will  of  his  master  in  1829,  he  has  never  left  the  estate, 
but  remains  a  resident  there,  where  he  is  regarded  as  a  patri- 
arch. I  saw  him  when  I  last  visited  Mount  Vernon,  in  the 
autumn  of  1858,  and  received  from  his  lips  many  interesting 
reminiscences  of  the  place  and  its  surroundings. 

22 


338 


MOUNT     VERNON 


Just  at  evening,  when  returning  from  a  stroll  to  the  ancient 
entrance  to  Mount  Yernon,  I  found  Westford  (the  name  of  the 
patriarch)  engaged  at  the  shop,  near  the  conservatory,  making 
a  plough.  He  is  a  mulatto,  very  intelligent  and  communica- 
tive ;  and  I  enjoyed  a  pleasant  and  profitable  half-hour's  con- 
versation with  him.  He  carne  to  Mount  Yernon  in  August, 
1802,  and  when  I  saw  him  he  was  in  the  seventy-second  year 
of  his  age. 

Westford  well   knew  Billy,  Washington's  favorite   servant 

•  > 
during  the  war  for  independence.     Billy,  with  all  of  his  fellow 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  339 

slaves,  was  made  free  by  his  master's  will ;  and  lie  received  a 
liberal  pension  and  a  residence  for  life  at  Mount  Vernon.  His 
means  for  luxurious  living  had  a  bad  effect  upon  him,  and 
Billy  became  a  lon^vivant.  Delirium  tremens  finally  seized 
him,  with  its  terrors.  Occasionally  Westford  sometimes  relieved 
him  of  the  paroxysms  by  bleeding.  One  morning,  a  little  more 
than  thirty  years  ago,  he  was  sent  for  to  bleed  Billy.  The 
blood  would  not  flow.  Billy  was  dead,  and  the  last  but  one 
of  Washington's  favorite  servants  passed  from  earth  forever. 
The  other  (a  woman)  died  at  Arlington  House  a  few  years 
ago,  where  I  saw  her  one  evening  at  family  worship. 

I  left  Westford  at  his  plough-making,  with  an  engage- 
ment to  meet  him  the  next  morning  before  breakfast,  for  the 
purpose  of  delineating  a  pencil  sketch  of  his  features.  I  found 
him  prepared,  having  on  a  black  satin  vest,  a  silk  cravat,  and 
his  curly  gray  hair  arranged  in  the  best  manner,  "  For,"  he 
said,  "  the  artists  make  colored  folks  look  bad  enough  any- 
how." When  my  sketch  was  finished,  he  wrote  his  name 
under  it  with  my  pencil. 

While  Judge  Washington  was  living,  Lafayette  came  to 
America  as  the  guest  of  the  nation,  and  after  a  lapse  of  fifty 
years,  he  again  visited  Mount  Vernon,  the  home  of  his  dear 
friend.  For  more  than  twenty-five  years  the  mortal  remains 
of  that  friend  had  been  lying  in  the  tomb,  yet  the  memory  of 
his  love  was  as  fresh  in  the  heart  of  the  marquis,  as  when,  in 
November,  1784,  they  parted,  to  see  each  other  on  earth  i  <  • 
more. 

On  that  occasion  Lafayette  was  presented  with  a  most 
touching  memorial  of  the  man  whom  he  delighted  to  call 
"  father^  The  adopted  son  of  that  father,  the  late  Mr.  Custis. 


340  MOUNT    VERNON 

with  many  others,  accompanied  the  marquis  to  the  tomb  of 
Washington,  where  the  tears  of  the  venerable  Frenchman 
flowed  freely.  While  standing  there,  Mr.  Custis,  after  a  few 
appropriate  remarks,  presented  to  Lafayette  a  massive  gold 
ring,  containing  a  lock  of  Washington's  hair.  It  was  a  most 
grateful  gift ;  and  those  who  were  present  have  spoken  of  the 
occurrence  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  touching  they 
had  ever  experienced. 

Again  there  was  a  gathering  before  the  tomb  of  Washington 
on  an  interesting  occasion.  Judge  Washington  wras  then  no 
more.  He  died  at  Philadelphia  in  the  autumn  of  1829,  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years,  bequeathing  his  estate  of  Mount  Vernon 
to  his  nephew,  John  Augustine  Washington,  a  son  of  his 
brother  Corbin.  The  latter  was  also  lying  in  the  family  vault, 
having  died  in  1832  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years,  and  his 
widow,  Mrs.  Jane  Washington,  was  then  mistress  of  the  man- 
sion and  estate. 

The  occasion  referred  to,  was  the  re-entombing  of  General 
Washington  and  his  wife.  This  event  occurred  in  October 
1837.  Mr.  John  Struthers,  of  Philadelphia,  generously  offered 
to  present  two  marble  coffins  in  which  the  remains  of  the  patriot 
and  his  consort  might  be  placed  for  preservation  forever,  for 
already  the  wooden  coffins,  which  covered  the  leaden  ones 
containing  their  ashes,  had  been  three  times  renewed.  Major 
Lewis,  the  last  surviving  executor  of  Washington's  will,  accepted 
the  proposed  donation,  and  the  sarcophagi  were  "wrought  from 
solid  blocks  of  Pennsylvania  marble.  The  vestibule  of  the 
new  vault  was  enlarged  so  as  to  permit  the  coffins  to  stand  in 
dry  air,  instead  of  being  placed  in  the  damp  vault;  and  on 
Saturday  the  7th  of  October  1837,  Mr.  William  Strickland,  of 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  341 

Philadelphia,  acccompanied  by  a  number  of  the  Washington 
family,  assisted  in  placing  the  remains  of  the  illustrious  dead 
in  the  receptacles  where  they  have  ever  since  lain  undisturbed. 

The  vault  was  first  entered  by  Mr.  Strickland,  accompanied 
by  Major  Lewis,  of  whom  he  said  :  "  Imagine  a  figure  stately 
and  erect,  upward  of  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  keen,  penetrat- 
ing eye,  a  high  forehead  partially  covered  with  the  silvery 
locks  of  seventy  winters,  intelligent  and  bland  in  expression, 
in  movement  graceful  and  dignified,  and  you  will  have  the 
portraiture  of  the  companion  and  friend  of  the  immortal 
Washington."  This  was  the  favorite  nephew  who  married 
Nelly  Custis  on  the  22d  of  February,  1799. 

When  the  decayed  wooden  case  was  removed  from  the  lead- 
en coffin  of  Washington,  the  lid  was  perceived  to  be  sunken 
and  fractured.  In  the  bottom  of  this  case  was  found  the  silver 
shield  which  was  placed  upon  that  leaden  lid  when  Washing- 
ton was  first  entombed. 

"  At  the  request  of  Major  Lewis,"  says  Mr.  Strickland,  in 
his  published  account,  "the  fractured  part  of  the  lid  was  turned 
over  on  the  lower  part,  exposing  to  view  a  head  and  breast 
of  large  dimensions,  which  appeared,  by  the  dim  light  of  the 
candles,  to  have  suffered  but  little  from  the  effects  of  time. 
The  eye-sockets  were  large  and  deep,  and  the  breadth  across 
the  temples,  together  with  the  forehead,  appeared,  of  unusual 
size.  There  was  no  appearance  of  grave-clothes ;  the  chest 
was  broad,  the  color  was  dark,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
dried  flesh  and  skin  adhering  closely  to  the  bones.  We  saw 
no  hair,  nor  was  there  any  offensive  odor  from  the  body  ;  but 
we  observed,  when  the  coffin  had  been  removed  to  the  outside 
of  the  vault,  the  dripping  down  of  a  yellow  liquid,  which 


342 


MOUNT     VEHNON 


stained  the  marble  of  the  sarcophagus.  A  hand  was  laid 
upon  the  head  and  instantly  removed  ;  the  leaden  lid  was 
restored  to  its  place ;  the  body,  raised  by  six  men,  was  carried 
and  laid  in  the  marble  coffin,  and  the  ponderous  cover  being 
put  on  and  set  in  cement,  it  was  sealed  from  our  sight.  The 
relatives  who  were  present,  consisting  of  Major  Lewis,  Lorenzo 
Lewis,  John  Augustine  Washington,  George  Washington,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Johnson  and  lady,  and  Mrs.  Jane  Washington,  then 
retired  to  the  mansion." 

The  remains  of  Mrs.  Washington  being  placed  in  the  other 
marble  sarcophagus,  they  were  both  boxed,  so  as  to  prevent 
their  being  injured  during  the  finishing  of  the  vestibule  in  its 
present  form. 


WASHINGTON  S    MARBLE    COFFIN. 


Mrs.  Washington's  coffin  is  perfectly  plain.  That  of  her 
husband  has  a  sculptured  lid,  on  which  is 
represented  the  American  shield  suspended 
over  the  flag  of  the  Union.  The  latter  is  hung 
in  festoons,  and  the  whole  group  is  surmount- 
ed with  a  spread-eagle  as  a  crest. 

The  new  tomb,  in  design  and  structure,  is 
offensive  to  good  taste,  and  its  appearance 
justifies  the  description  of  it  by  an  English 
nobleman  who  said,  "  It  is  a  glaring  red 
building  somewhat  between  a  coach-house  and 

O 


ftt 


°f 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


343 


WASHINGTON  8  TOMB. 


hill,  on  the  edge  of  a  deep  wooded  glen  that  extends  to  the 
river,  and  through  which  flows  a  choked  brook. 

The  spacious  vault  is  built  of  brick,  with  an  arched  roof. 
It  is  entirely  overgrown  with  shrubbery,  brambles  and  vines, 
which  gives  it  an  antiquated  appearance.  Its  iron  door  is 
entered  from  the  spacious  vestibule  ;  and  over  it,  upon  a  stone 
panel,  are  the  words : 

ki  I   AM    THE    RESURRECTION    AND   THE    LIFE  ;     HE    THAT    BELIEVETH 
IN  ME,  THOUGH  HE  WERE  DEAD,  YKT  SHALL  HE  LIVE  !" 


The  vestibule  is  also  built  of  brick,  and  is  twelve  feet  in 
height.  The  iron  picketed  gateway,  through  which  the  mar- 
ble sarcophagi  may  be  seen,  is  flanked  by  two  brick  pilas- 


344:  MOUNT     VERNON 

ters,  surmounted   by  a  stone   coping,  which  covers  a  gothic 
arch.     Over  this  arch  is  a  white  marble  tablet  inscribed — 

"  WITHIN     THIS     ENCLOSURE    EEST   THE     REMAINS     OF 
GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.-" 

On  the  east  side  of  the  tomb,  beneath  marble  monuments, 
lie  the  remains  of  Eleanor  Parke  Lewis  and  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
M.  E.  Conrad.  In  front  of  the  tomb  are  two  stately  obelisks 
of  marble.  One  of  them  was  erected  in  memory  of  Judge  Bush- 
rod  Washington,  and  the  other  of  John  Augustine  Washing- 
ton, father  of  the  last  proprietor  of  Mount  Yernon  of  the  Wash- 
ington name. 

Very  few  articles  of  the  personal  property  of  General  Wash- 
ington, except  the  library  of  books,  remain  at  Mount  Vernon. 
After  Mrs.  Washington's  death,  the  devised  personal  property 
was  distributed  according  to  the  directions  of  his  will,  and  the 
remainder  was  sold.  The  purchasers  consisted  chiefly  of  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  the  grandchildren  of  Mrs.  Washington 
taking  nearly  all  of  the  family  plate,  and  furniture.  Many  of 
these  things  have  been  described  and  delineated  in  these  pages ; 
and  many  others  have  been  scattered  over  the  country,  and 
since  lost. 

While  this  very  page  was  in  preparation,  I  received  from 
Mr.  George  Livermore,  of  Cambridge,  an  account  of  a  most 
precious  relic  jf  Washington's  earlier  life,  which  is  now  in 
possession  of  the  venerable  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Boston.  It  is 
the  silver  gorget  of  General  Washington,  which  composed  a 
part  of  his  uniform  while  in  the  colonial  service,  and  is  seen 
suspended  from  his  neck  in  Peale's  portrait  of  him,  painted  in 
1772,  and  printed  on  page  82  of  this  book. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  345 

"This  precious  relic,"  says  Mr.  Quincy  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Livermore,  "  came  to  my  possession  under  the  following  cir- 
cumstances :  from  1805  to  1813,  I  was  one  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  from  Suffolk  District.  During  these  years  I 
had  the  happiness,  with  my  wife,  to  form  an  acquaintance 
with  Mrs.  Martha  Peter  (formerly  Custis),  the  wife  of  Thomas- 
Peter,  Esq.,  of  Tudor  Place,  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
There  sprang  up  between  both  families — particularly  between 
Mrs.  Peter  and  my  wife — a  great  intimacy,  the  result  of  mu- 
tual respect  and  also  coincidence  in  political  feeling  and  opin- 
ion, which,  at  that  period,  constituted  a  bond  of  great  strength. 
She  was  a  woman  of  great  personal  beauty,  highly  accom- 
plished, intellectual,  elevated  in  spirit  and  sentiment,  and 
worthy  of  the  relation  which  she  held  of  granddaughter  to 
George  Washington. 

"When,  in  1813,  on  resigning  my  seat  in  Congress,  I  called 
at  Tudor  Place  to  take  leave,  Mrs.  Peter,  after  stating  the  inter- 
est she  felt  in  me  and  Mrs.  Quincy,  asked  my  acceptance  of 
the  '  gorget  of  Washington,  with  the  ribbon  attached  to  it, 
which'  she  said  '  she  had  received  at  the  division  of  her 

* 

grandfather's  estate.'  About  that  time,  there  had  been  form- 
ed in  Boston  a  political  association  bearing  the  name  of  the 
Washington  Benevolent  Society,  having  for  its  object  the  sup- 
port of  the  views  and  principles  of  Washington,  of  which  I 
was  one  of  the  vice-presidents ;  and  I  immediately  suggested 
the  propriety,  and  asked  her  leave,  to  present  in  her  name 
that  precious  relic  to  that  society.  She  expressed  her  gratifi- 
cation at  the  suggestion,  saying  '  that  she  knew  of  no  place 
where  the  principles  of  Washington  had  been  more  uniformly 


346  MOUNT     VERNON 

cherished,  or  were  likely  to  be  more  highly  prized  or  pre- 
served longer,  than  in  the  town  of  Boston.' 

"  Accordingly,  on  .my  return  in  April,  1813,  I  made  a  for- 
mal statement  of  the  above  circumstances  to  the  Washington 
Benevolent  Society,  and  presented  the  gorget,  in  her  name,  to 
that  society.  The  gift  was  gratefully  and  cordially  received 
and  acknowledged  by  a  vote  of  the  society,  signed  by  Arnold 
Welles,  president ;  and  William  Sullivan,  Josiah  Qnincy, 
Samuel  Messinger,  John  C.  Warren,  and  Benjamin  Russell, 
vice-presidents.  A  record  of  the  gift,  of  the  vote  of  thanks, 
and  of  all  the  proceedings,  was  written  upon  parchment,  and 
deposited  in  a  box  especially  adapted  for  its  preservation  ;  and 
an  account  of  the  doings  of  the  society  was  officially  trans- 
mitted to  Mrs.  Peter. 

"The  gorget  remained  in  that  situation,  under  the  care  of 
the  society,  for  five  or  six  years,  until  its  final  dissolution, 
when,  by  a  vote  of  the  society,  it  was  formally  placed  in  my 
custody ;  and  I  immediately  wrote  to  Mrs.  Peter  a  statement 
of  the  circumstances,  offering  to  return  the  gorget  to  her.  She 
was  pleased  to  reply,  that  it  was  her  wish  that  I  should  retain 
it  in  my  possession,  and  make  such  disposition  of  it  as  I  saw 
fit." 

When  I  last  visited  Mount  Yernon,  in  the  autumn  of  1857, 
I  saw  there  a  few  articles,  not  already  mentioned,  that  belonged 
to  Washington.  These  were  a  liquor-chest,  two  mirrors,  some 
tissue  paper,  one  of  his  ordinary  address  cards,  several  dia- 
grams and  memoranda  from  his  pen,  and  a  number  of  en- 
gravings. 

The  liquor-chest  was  in  a  closet  adjoining  the  dining-room, 
and  was  used  by  the  family  when  I  was  there.  It  is  made  of 


AND     ITS     ASSOCIATIONS. 


34' 


WASHINGTON  S    LIQrOR-CHEST. 

mahogany  ;    and   tradition    avers  that  it  composed  a  part  of 


WASHIXGTONS    MIRROR. 


Washington's   baggage  during   the   Revolution.      It  contains 
twelve  large  white  glass  flasks,  thirteen  inches  in  height. 


348 


MOUNT     VERNON 


One    of    the    mirrors,    highly   ornamented    with    elaborate 

carvings,  and  bearing  the  arms  of 
the  Washington  family,  was  in  a 
small  parlor  adjoining  the  great 
drawing-room  ;  and  the  other,  a 
plain  one,  also  bearing  the  family 
arms,  in  gilt  upon  a  deep  blue 
ground,  at  the  top,  was  in  another 
parlor,  adjoining  the  library. 

The  tissue  paper  was  made 
expressly  for  "Washington's  use. 
Each  sheet  bears  his  name  and 
crest,  and  a  rude  figure  of  Liberty 
with  the  pileus  and  cap,  forming 
the  water-mark.  The  paper  is  quite  coarse  in  texture  com- 
pared with  that  manufactured  at  the  present  time.  The 
engraving  of  the  water-mark  is  half  the  size  of  the  original. 


WATER-MARK. 


WASHINGTON  S    ADDRESS    CARD. 


The  address  card  was  coarsely  engraved  on  copper,  and  was 
used  by  Washington  during  the  war.     While  he  was  Presi- 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  349 

dent,  he  had  a  neat  invitation-to-dinner  card  engraved  in  writ- 
ing. The  original  plate  of  the  latter  is  in  the  possession  of  a 
gentleman  in  Philadelphia. 

Some  of  the  diagrams  from  Washington's  pen,  alluded  to, 
have  been  delineated  upon  other  pages  of  this  work.  The  en- 
gravings that  belonged  to  him  hang  in  the  great  passage  and 
two  adjoining  parlors.  These  are,  Andromache  bewailing 
the  Death  of  Hector ;  The  Death  of  Montgomery ;  The  Death 
of  Warren ;  two  Hunting  Scenes  ;  four  Landscapes ;  The  De- 
fence of  Gibraltar,  four  Views  ;  Descent  from  the  Cross ;  and  a 
St.  Agnes.  These  are  all  more  or  less  injured  by  some  tiny  de- 
stroyers, that  are  daily  making  the  high  lights  still  stronger,  so 
that  all  the  pictures  now  appear  snowy.  If  their  destructive 
progress  shall  not  be  speedily  arrested,  those  relics  of  the  great 
Patriot's  household  ornaments  will  be  lost  forever.  With 
characteristic  modesty,  Washington  allowed  no  picture  of 
scenes  in  which  he  was  a  participant  to  adorn  the  walls  of 
Mount  Yernon.  Some  fine  oil  paintings  and  family  portraits 
that  were  there  have  been  distributed  among  relatives ;  that 
of  Lawrence  Washington  alone  remains. 

Only  one  more  object  of  interest  at  Mount  Vernon  remains 
to  be  noticed.  It  is  a  portrait  of  Washington  taken  from  a 
common  English  earthenware  pitcher,  and  is  known  as  The 
Pitcher  Portrait.  It  is  in  a  deep  gilt  frame,  and  upon  the 
back  is  an  admirable  eulogy  of  the  great  Patriot,  in  monumen- 
tal form.  The  history  of  this  portrait  and  the  eulogy  was  com- 
municated to  me  recently  by  the  venerable  artist,  Rembrandt 
Peale,  of  Philadelphia,  and  is  both  curious  and  interesting. 

About  the  year  1804,  the  late  John  R.  Smith,  of  Phila- 
delphia, son  of  the  eminent  Jonathan  Bayard  Smith,  showed 


350  MOUNT    VERNON 

Mr.  Peale  a  copy  by  Sharpless  himself,  of  that  artist's  crayon 
profile  of  Washington,  made  in  1796.  On  the  back  of  it  was  a 
eulogy  of  Washington,  written  in  monumental  form  in  two 
columns,  by  an  English  gentleman,  Mr.  Smith  said,  whose 
name  he  had  forgotten,  or  never  knew.  He  told  Mr.  Peale 
that  the  gentleman  pasted  it  on  the  back  of  the  portrait. 


PITCHER    I'OKTKAIT. 


It  was  at  about  that  time  that  a  crockery  dealer  in  Phila- 
delphia imported  a  number  of  earthenware  pitchers  from 
Liverpool,  each  bearing  a  portrait  of  Washington  from  an 
engraving  of  Stuart's  picture  painted  for  the  Marquis  of  Lans- 
downe,  wThich  Heath  had  badly  engraved,  and  XutU-r  had 
better  executed  for  Hunter's  quarto  edition  of  Lavater.  Nut- 
ter's engraving  was  coarsely  imitated  in  the  one  upon  the 
pitcher. 

The  pitchers  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Dorsey,  a  sugar 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  351 

refiner  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  a  taste  for  art,  and  he  pur- 
chased several  of  them,  as  he  considered  the  likeness  of 
Washington  a  good  one.  Mr.  Dorsey,  after  several  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  to  separate  the  part  bearing  the  portrait,  from 
the  rest  of  the  pitcher,  succeeded,  by  using  the  broad-faced 
hammer  of  a  shoemaker,  in  breaking  them  cleanly  out  by  a 
single  blow,  given  directly  upon  the  picture. 

One  of  these  pictures  broken  out  by  Mr.  Dorsey,  was  hand- 
somely framed  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  sent  to  Judge  Washington 
at  Mount  Vernon,  with  the  eulogy  on  the  back  of  the  Sharp- 
less  profile  belonging  to  his  father,  copied  by  his  own  hand. 
That  copy  varies  materially  from  the  original,  in  some  of  its 
phraseology  and  in  large  omissions.  This  difference  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  supposition  that  Mr.  Smith  had  not  room 
in  the  space  on  the  back  of  the  picture  to  transcribe  the  whole 
of  the  original,  and  some  parts  were  omitted  and  others 
changed.  The  Sharpless  picture  was  much  larger  than  the- 
pitcher  portrait,  and  there  was  more  room  on  the  back  for  the- 
eulogy. 

In  the  year  1819  or  1820,  Mr.  Smith  gave  Mr.  Harrison 
Hall,  the  publisher  of  the  Port  Folio,  a  perfect  transcript  of 
what  was,  probably,  the  original  eulogy,  and  to  the  courtesy 
of  that  gentleman  I  am  indebted  for  the  subjoined  copy, 
which  contains  all  the  omissions  in  the  one  upon  the  back  of 
the  picture  at  Mount  Yernon.  Mr.  Hall,  and  others  of  Mr.. 
Smith's  friends,  have  been  under  the  impression  that  that  ac- 
complished gentleman  was  the  author  of  the  eulogy,  but  the 
explicit  statement  of  Mr.  Peale  and  concurring  circumstances 
appear  to  remove  all  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  common  tradi- 
tion in  the  Washington  family,  that  it  was  written  by  an 


352  MOUNT    VERNON 

unknown  English  gentleman.  The  mutilated  inscription,  as  it 
appears  upon  the  back  of  the  portrait  at  Mount  Yernon,  was 
published  in  Alden's  Collection  of  American  Epitaphs  and 
Inscriptions,  as  early  as  the  year  1814. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  on  the  back  of  the 
Sharpless  profile  given  by  Mr.  Smith  to  Mr.  Hall : 

WASHINGTON, 

The  DEFENDER  of  his  COUNTRY, 
The  FOUNDER  of  LIBERTY, 

The  FRIEND  of  MAN. 
HISTORY  and  TRADITION  are  explored  in  vain 

For  a  Parallel  to  his  Character. 
In  the  Annals  of  MODERN  GREATNESS, 

He  stands  alone, 

And  the  noblest  Names  of  Antiquity 
Lose  their  Lustre  in  his  Presence. 

Born  the  Benefactor  of  Mankind, 

He  was  signally  endowed  with  all  the  Qualities 

Appropriate  to  his  Illustrious  Career. 

Nature  made  him  Great, 

And,  Heaven  directed, 

He  made  himself  Virtuous. 

Called  by  his  Country  to  the  Defence  of  her  Soil 

And  the  vindication  of  her  Liberties, 

He  led  to  the  Field 

Her  Patriot  Armies ;   • 

And  displaying  in  rapid  and  brilliant  succession. 


AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  353 

The  united  Powers 
Of  Consumniate  Prudence 

And  Heroic  Valour, 

He  triumphed  in  Arms 

Over  the  most  powerful  Nation 

Of  Modern  Europe ; 

His  Sword  giving  Freedom  to  America, 

His  Counsels  breathing  Peace  to  the  world. 

After  a  short  repose 
From  the  tumultuous  Vicissitudes 

Of  a  Sanguinary  War, 
The  astounding  Energies  of 

WASHINGTON 

Were  again  destined  to  a  New  Course 
Of  Glory  and  Usefulness. 

Tlie  Civic  Wreath 

Was  spontaneously  placed 

By  the  Gratitude  of  the  Nation, 

On  the  Brow  of  the  DELIVERER  of  his  COUNTRY. 

He  was  twice  solemnly  invested 

With  the  Powers  of  Supreme  Magistracy, 

By  the  Unanimous  Voice  of 

A  Free  People; 
And  in  his  EXALTED  and  ARDUOUS  station, 

His  Wisdom  in  the  Cabinet 
Transcended  the  Glories  of  the  Field. 

The  Destinies  of  Washington 

Were  now  complete. 

Having  passed  the  Meridian  of  a  Devoted  Life, 
Having  founded  on  the  Pillars 


2:: 


354  M  0  U  N  T     V  E  R  X  0  N 

Of  NATIONAL  INDEPENDENCE 

The  SPLENDID  FABRIC 

Of  a  Great  Republic, 

And  having  firmly  established 

The  Empire  of  the  West, 

He  solemnly  deposited  on  the  Altar  of  his  Country, 
His  Laurels  and  his  Sword, 
And  retired  to  the  Shades 

Of  PRIVATE  LIFE. 

A  Spectacle  so  New  and  so  Sublime, 

Was  contemplated  by  Mankind 

With  the  Profoundest  admiration ; 

And  the  name  of  WASHINGTON, 

Adding  new  Lustre  to  Humanity, 

Resounded 
To  (he  remotest  regions  of  the  EarOi. 

Magnanimous  in  Youth, 
Glorious  through  Life, 

Great  in  Death, 

His  highest  Ambition 

The  Happiness  of  Mankind, 

His  noblest  victory 

The  Conquest  of  Himself. 

Bequeathing  to  America 

The  Inheritance  of  his  Fame, 

And  building  his  Monument 

In  the  Hearts  of  his  Countrymen. 

He  Lived, 
The  Ornament  of  the  18th  Century  ; 

He  Died, 
LAMENTED  BY  A  MOURNING  WORLD. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  355 

One  hundred  and  sixteen  years  ago,  Mount  Vernon  received 
its  name,  and  from  that  time  until  the  present  year  (1859) 
it  lias  been  owned  and  occupied  by  a  Washington. 

Lawrence  Washington,  as  we  have  seen,  named  it  in  honor 
of  his  gallant  friend,  and  from  him  it  descended  to  his  half- 
brother,  George,  who  occupied  it  more  than  forty  years.  By 
him  it  was  bequeathed  to  his  nephew,  Bushrod,  who  lived 
there  twenty-seven  years.  It  then  passed  into  the  possession 
of  John  Augustine  Washington,  a  son  of  Bushrod's  brother 
Corbin.  He  died  three  years  afterward,  leaving  it  to  his 
widow.  At  her  death,  in  1855,  it  became  the  property  of  her 
son,  John  Augustine  Washington,  who  resides  there. 

For  many  years  the  Mount  Vernon  estate  had  been  decay- 
ing. The  ravages  of  time  and  the  rust  of  neglect  were  rapidly 
destroying  all  that  had  received  the  care  and  culture  of  Gen- 
eral Washington's  mind  and  hand ;  and  thoughtful  and  pa- 
triotic visitors  often  felt  saddened  when  they  saw  the  man- 
sion and  its  dependent  buildings,  and  other  visible  memorials 
of  the  great  and  good  Father  of  his  Country,  evidently  per- 
ishing. 

The  sad  thoughts  of  these  visitors  led  to  patriotic  action,  and 
for  a  long  time  there  was  a  growing  desire  felt  throughout  the 
Union,  to  have  Mount  Yernon  become  the  property  of  the 
nation.  The  young  owner,  unable  to  keep  the  estate  in  proper 
order,  and  greatly  annoyed  by  thousands  of  visitors  every  year, 
many  of  whom  took  liberties  about  the  house  and  grounds,  in 
apparently  utter  forgetfulness  that  they  were  private  property, 
expressed,  a  willingness  to  sell  it  for  such  a  purpose.  Congress 
was  asked  to  buy  it.  The  application  was  unsuccessful. 

At  length  an  American  matron  conceived  the  idea  of  ap- 


356  MOUNT    VERNON 

pealing  to  her  countrywomen  in  behalf  of  Mount  Vernon. 
She  asked  them  to  put  forth  their  hands  to  the  work  of  obtain- 
ing sufficient  money  to  purchase  it,  that  the  HOME  AND  TOMB 
OF  WASHINGTON  might  be  a  national  possession  forever.  The 
idea  was  electric,  and  it  was  felt  and  responded  to  all  over  the 
land.  Her  invalid  daughter,  strengthened  by  the  thought  of 
being  instrumental  in  accomplishing  the  great  work,  took  the 
direction  of  the  enterprise.  She  printed  a  strong  appeal  to  her 
countrywomen  ;  organized  an  association,  and  procured  a  char- 
ter of  incorporation  for  it ;  bargained  for  the  purchase  of  the 
mansion  and  appendages,  and  two  hundred  surrounding  acres 
of  the  Mount  Vernon  estate,  for  two  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  began  in  great  earnestness  the  work  of  obtaining  that 
amount  of  money,  and  as  much  more  for  the  restoration  and 
support  of  the  estate.  By  common  consent  she  was  constitu- 
ted regent  or  chief  manager,  and  she  appointed  vice-regents 
in  every  state  in  the  Union  as  assistants. 

Meanwhile  the  cupidity  of  speculators  was  awakened. 
They  perceived  that  great  profits  might  be  made  by  trans- 
forming the  HOME  and  TOMB  of  WASHINGTON  into  a  public 
show.  The  proprietor  had  oifered  the  property  to  the  federal 
government,  or  the  state  of  Virginia,  for  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  Before  American  women  proposed  to  purchase 
it,  and  while  awaiting  the  action  of  Congress,  these  speculators 
offered  him  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  it.  He 
refused  to  sell  it  for  such  an  unhallowed  purpose  at  any  price, 
preferring  to  take  much  less  from  the  United  States  or  Vir- 
ginia ;  or  to  keep  it,  and  continue  to  suffer  the  inevitable  an- 
noyances arising  from  the  conduct  of  thoughtless  or  vicious 
visitors. 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  357 

The  efforts  of  American  women  have  been  successful. 
They  have  been  cheered  and  aided  by  the  best  and  wisest  men 
of  their  country.  EDWARD  EVERETT,  one  of  our  most  saga- 
cious statesmen  and  accomplished  scholars,  devoted  his  tongue 
and  pen  to  the  work.  He  went  from  city  to  city  like  Peter 
the  Hermit  pleading  for  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  de- 
livering an  oration  upon  the  character  of  Washington  for  the 
benefit  of  the  fund  ;  and  delighted  crowds  who  listened  to  his 
eloquent  words,  contributed  so  freely,  that  in  less  than  two 
years  he  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  Ladies'  Mount  Vernon 
Association,  one  quarter  of  the  purchase  money.  The  whole 
amount  has  been  obtained,  and  now  Mount  Vernon  is  no  long- 
er a  private  possession,  but  the  property  of  the  multitudes  of 
men,  women  and  children  of  the  land,  who  have  contributed 
in  ever  so  slight  a  degree  to  its  purchase.  It  is  to  be  theirs 
and  their  posterity's  forever.  In  a  word,  it  belongs  to  the  na- 
tion ;  and  while  these  pages  were  in  preparation,  the  work  of 
renovation  and  restoration  was  commenced  at  Mount  Vernon. 
Nothing  now  remains  for  the  association  to  do,  but  to  obtain  a 
sum  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  purchase  money,  for  the  com- 
plete restoration  and  future  support  of  the  estate,  and  a  general 
supervision  of  its  management.  This,  American  women  will 
speedily  accomplish,  for  the  heart  of  the  nation  beats  in 
unison  with  their  own. 

And  when  in  a  few  years  the  mansion  and  its  surrounding 
buildings  shall  be  restored  to  the  form  and  strength  they  bore 
when  Washington  left  them — when  the  lawns,  the  gardens,  the 
conservatory,  shall  all  be  revealed  in  their  original  beauty  and 
perfection — when  the  same  kinds  of  trees,  planted  with  so 
much  taste  and  care  by  Washington,  shall  again  adorn  the 


358  MOUNT     VERNON 

grounds,  and  his  tomb  shall  be  beautified  by  the  hand  of  art, 
the  visitor  from  whithersoever,  will  bless  the  noble  and  patri- 
otic American  women  by  whose  efforts  all  this  transformation 
lias  been  accomplished  ;  especially  will  they  remember  with 
reverential  affection,  Miss  ANNA  PAMELA  CUNNINGHAM,  the 
regent,  the  invalid  daughter  of  a  "  Southern  matron,"  whose 
feeble  hand  but  energetic  spirit  directed  all. 

We  have  now  considered  some  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
past  associations  of  Mount  Yernon,  connected  with  the  illus- 
trious man  whose  character  has  in  a  degree  sanctified  them  all. 
But  there  are  other  associations  that  cluster  around  Washing- 
ton and  his  home,  in  the  presence  of  which  these  material 
things  sink  into  utter  insignificance.  They  are  of  a  moral 
nature,  and  belong  not  only  to  the  Past  but  to  all  the  Future. 

It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  the  character  of  Washington 
in  its  relation  to  the  events  in  which  lie  was  immediately 
engaged,  for  it  presents  a  most  noble  example  ;  but  far  more 
delightful  and  profitable  is  it,  to  contemplate  him  with  that 
broader  vision  which  discerns  his  relation  to  all  people  and  to 
all  time — to  regard  him  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  heart-prophe- 
cies of  earnest  lovers  of  freedom  in  the  past ;  born,  nurtured, 
developed,  disciplined,  and  inspired,  to  lead  a  great  people  out 
of  bondage,  and  to  be  forever  a  sublime  model  of  a  PATRIOT 
for  the  contemplation  of  generations  yet  to  appear.  We 
should  become  habituated  thus  to  think  of  him,  and  learn 
to  love  the  spirit  which  led  him  to  the  performance  of  great 
deeds,  rather  than  the  deeds  themselves. 

Such  contemplations  of  Washington  are  not  incompatible 
with  a  sober  reverence  for  material  things  with  which  he  was 
intimately  associated ;  and  especially  should  we  cherish  as 


AND     ITS    ASSOCIATIONS.  359 

precious  memorial  treasures,  the  HOME  that  he  loved,  and  the 
TOMB  wherein  his  remains  repose.  These  may  excite  the 
mind  to  loftier  views  of  the  Pater  Pat  rise,  and  inspire  senti- 
ments such  as  filled  the  soul  of  the  Rev.  William  Jay,  of  Eng- 
land, who,  on  seeing  a  picture  of  Mount  Yernon,  wrote  im- 
promptu— 

"There  dwelt  the  MAN  the  flower  of  human  kind, 
Whose  visage  mild  bespoke  his  noble  mind. 
There  dwelt  the  SOLDIER  who  his  sword  ne'er  drew 
But  in  a  righteous  cause  to  freedom  true. 
There  dwelt  the  Hero,  who  ne'er  fought  for  fame, 
Yet  gained  more  glory  than  a  Ciesar's  name. 
There  dwelt  the  STATESMAN,  who,  devoid  of  art, 
Gave  soundest  counsels  from  an  upright  heart. 
And  oh  !  Columbia,  by  thy  sons  caressed, 
There  dwelt  THE  FATHER  of  the  realms  he  blessed. 
Who  no  wish  felt  to  make  his  mighty  praise, 
Like  other  chiefs,  the  means  himself  to  raise, 
But  there,  retiring,  breathed  in  pure  renown, 
4    And  felt  a  grandeur  that  disdained  a  crown.'' 


INDEX, 


A. 

PAGE 

Adams,  John,  description  of  the  inauguration  of 280 

Adarns.  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  visit  Mrs.  Washington  after  the  death  of  her  hushand 335 

Adams,  President,  nominates  Washington  to  the  Senate,  as  commander-in-chief 808 

Adams,  Robert,  watch  that  belonged  to  Washington  willed  to 206 

Adams,  Vice-President,  at  Washington's  table 209 

Address  card  of  Washington 348 

Alexandria,  Washington  invited  to  partake  of  a  public  dinner  at 195 

Alison,  remarks  of,  respecting  Washington's  Farewell  Address 277 

Ameburg,  J.  F.,  glass  manufacturer,  visits  Mount  Vernon  in  1789   190 

"        presents  some  specimens  of  his  art  to  Washington 190 

Ancient  entrance  to  Mount  Vernon,  picture  of 196 

"        present  condition  of 196 

Appearance,  personal,  of  Washington,  when  on  horseback 63 

Arch,  triumphal,  at  Trenton,  in  honor  of  Washington 199 

Arlington  Spring,  kitchen  and  dancing  hall  erected  at,  by  Mr   Uustis   258 

"        Washington's  tent  at 126 

Arms  of  the  Washington  family,  picture  of 13 

Armstrong,  John,  letter  of,  to  General  Gates  respecting  Washington's  reception  in  Now  York 

in  1769   200 

Army,  American,  disbanded         117 

"        officers  of  part  with  Washington 117 

Army,  British,  evacuates  New  York : , 117 

Army,  Continental,  adopted  by  Congre>s 99 

"        Washington  made  commander-in-chief  of 100 

Army,  popular  one  formed 92 

•'        its  character 92 

Asses  presented  to  Washington  by  the  King  of  Spa'n 175 

"        Mr.  Custis's  account  of 176 

Akinson.  Rev.  A.  B.,  wife  of,  has  Washington's  telescope 85 

"        Washington's  butter-bowl  in  possession  of 241 

Aurora,  letter  hostile  to  Washington  published  in,  soon  after  his  retirement  from  office 279 

Autographs  of  Jane  and  Mary  Washington 18 

B. 

Bachelor,  London  orders  of  Washington  when  a 54 

Baldwin,  John  Y.,  owner  of  Washington's  pistols 22fi 

Ball  at  Annapolis,  attended  by  Washington   .  118 

"        Fredericksburg,  attended  by  Washington 115 


362 

I'AGB 

Ball,  Colonel  William,  ancestor  of  Washington's  mother 19 

"        arms  of  his  family ..; 19 

"        Joseph,  letter  of  to  Washington's  mother 81 

Baptism  of  Washington 19 

Barge,  Washington's,  returned  to  the  giver  216 

Bartram,  John,  garden  of,  near  Philadelph:a 143 

'•        William,  explorations  of 143 

Bassett,  Colonel,  J.  P.  Custis  dies  at  the  house  of 113 

Bastile,  key  of,  presented  to  Washington 217 

Bastilo,  sketch  of 21T 

"       destruction  of 220 

"       site  of 220 

"        picture  of  destruction  of 221 

"        picture  of  key  of ....  223 

Battle-sword  of  Wash'ngton  preserved 120 

"        where  manufactured 1 20 

"        with  Franklin's  staff ...  120 

Bed  and  bedstead  on  which  Washington  died  kept  as  sacred  mementos  at  Arlington  House,  323 

"        description  of 323 

"        picture  of 823 

Belvoir,  the  seat  of  the  Fairfaxes 29 

"        mansion  of  the  Fairfaxes  consumed  by  fire 9J 

"        owner  of  never  returned  from  England 92 

Bianca,  Florida,  the  Spanish  premier,  letter  of,  to  Washington .  176 

Bible  on  which  Washington  took  the  oath  of  office  in  1789 202 

"        inscription  on 202 

"        picture  of 202 

"        in  possession  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  in  New  York 208 

Bier  upon  which  the  body  of  Washington  was  conveyed  to  the  tomb 329 

Billy,  one  of  Washington's  favorite  servants,  known  to  Westford 338 

"        death  of,  hastened  by  intemperate  habits 339 

Birth  of  Washington 19 

Birth-place  of  Washington 20 

"        present  desolation  of 21 

"        picture  of  the  inscribed  stone  that  marks  it 22 

Bishop,  Washington's  body -servant 68,  106 

Bishop  White,  at  the  farewell  dinner  given  by  Washington  in  Philadelphia  n  1797   280 

Blues,  McPherson's,  picture  of  uniform  of 384 

"        six  survivors  of,  in  1869 333 

Bonaparte,  respect  paid  to  the  memory  of  Washington  by 336 

Book-plate,  Washington's,  picture  of 13 

Boot-jack,  Washington's  travelling,  picture  of 195 

Boundary  disputes  between  the  French  and  English .  M 

Box  made  of  the  wood  of  the  oak  tree  that  sheltered  Wallace  after  the  battle  at  Falkirk,  sent 

to  Washington  by  tho  Earl  of  Buchan 258 

Box  sent  to  Washington  by  the  Earl  of  Buchan  recommitted  to  his  care  by  the  Will  of  the 

General 261 

Braddock,  General 41 

"        calls  a  council  at  Alexandria 42 

"        invites  Colonel  Washington  to  his  quarters 42 

"        invites  Washington  to  become  his  aide  — 43 

Bradford,  Mr.,  impromptu  effusion  of,  on  learning  the  misfortunes  of  Lafayette 287 

Brevoort,  J.  Carson,  owner  of  Pine's  portrait  of  Washington 168 

Bridport,  Lord,  respect  paid  to  the  memory  of  Washington  by 835 

Brienne,  Marchioness  de,  sister  of  Count  de  Moustier,  at  Mount  Vernon 184 

"        painted  a  miniature  of  Washington 1H4 

"        her  picture  of  Washington  and  Lafayette 185 

Brown,  Dr.,  called  to  attend  Washington  in  his  last  illness 319 

Burgesses,  Virginia,  Washington  a  member  of,  the  House  of 71 


363 

I'AOK 

Bushrod  Washington,  nephew  of  the  General,  comes  into  possession  of  Mount  Vernon,  on 

the  death  of  Mrs.  Washington 386 

"        appointed  by  President  Adams  to  be  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 

States 8.57 

"        portrait  of 387 

Butter-bowl,  china,  that  belonged  to  Washington 242 

Button,  military,  belonging  to  Washington's  coat SI 

Buttons  stolen  from  military  coat  of  Washington  81 

C. 

Calvert,  Benedict,  miniature  of  daughter  of,  painted  by  Peale 84 

"        daughter  of,  wife  of  John  Parko  Custis 84 

Camp-chest,  leal  hern,  used  by  Washington  in  1753,  picture  of 89 

Candelabra,  mural,  used  in  Washington's  dining-room  at  Philadelphia,  described 801 

•'        picture  of 301 

Candlesticks,  Washington's,  massive  silver .- 303 

"        picture  of 808 

Capitol,  singular  historical  fact  respecting  the  site  of  the 256 

"        corner-stonu  of  the  north  wing  of,  laid  in  September,  1793 257 

"•        plan  for  the,  submitted  by  Dr.  Thornton,  approved  by  Washington 257 

Carey's  House,  at  Alexandria,  place  where  Braddoek  had  his  quarters  42 

"        picture  of 42 

Carpenter's  Hall,  place  of  meeting  of  the  first  Congress 90 

Carrington,  Mrs.,  her  description  of  Mrs.  Washington  at  home 204 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  Carrolltou 126 

"        son  of,  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  Nelly  Custis 311 

"        letter  of  G.  W.  P.  Custis  to  Washington,  respecting  son  of,  as  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of 

Nelly  Custis 311 

Carthagena,  British  soldiers  perish  at 27 

Casseday,  Alexander,  drawing  by,  of  Washington's  secretary 214 

Cave  Castle,  the  seat  of  Washington's  ancestors  in  England 15 

"        picture  of 15 

Century  plant  at  Mount  Vernon 144' 

Chairs  at  Mount  Vernon,  pictures  of 55 

"       described  by  Washington 55 

Chamberlay  ne,  Mr.,  the  host  of  Washington  when  he  first  saw  Mrs.  Custis 48 

'•        Colonel  Washington  lingers  at  the  house  of 48 

Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1781   106 

"        sketch  of 108 

"        portrait  of 109 

"        Washington's  letter  to 109 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  his  opinion  of  the  Continental  Congivss 91 

Children,  great  fondness  of  Washington  for 2ti(i 

Chimney-piece  presented  to  Washington  by  Samuel  Vaughan,  of  London 171 

"        picture  of 172 

China,  Sevres,  belonging  to  Washington        2'(9 

China,  Cincinnati,  presented  to  Washington 289 

"        picture  of 240 

"        M  rs.  Washington's 240 

"        picture  of  Mrs.  Washington's 241 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  Washington  a  vestryman  of 76 

"        Washington's  pew  in 76 

"        picture  of 77 

Christmas  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1788 i:)U 

Cincinnati  china,  picture  of         .     240 

Cincinnati.  Society  of  the,  account  of  the  formation  of 127 

"        object  of    123 

"        constitution  of . . .  . .   15JS 


364  INDEX. 

PACE 

Cincinnati,  Society,  order  of 129 

"        splendid  order  of,  presented  to  "Washington  by  French  soldiers    '.    .  130 

"        member's  certificate  of 131 

"        Washington  president-general  of  the  Society  of  the 182 

•'        Knox  secretary  of  the  Society  of  the   182 

City  Tavern,  Philadelphia,  Washington  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  banquet  at 198 

Clarke,  maker  of  Washington's  coach 2:(5 

Clinton,  George,  Washington's  letter  to,  on  Peace 117 

"       at  Washington's  inauguration  in  1789 202 

"        at  the  President's  table   209 

Clothes,  military,  Washington  lays  aside  his 119 

Coach,  Washington's  English 2?1 

"        picture  and  description  of 232 

"        emblazoning  upon 283 

"        picture  on  panel  of 234 

"        Washington's  letters  about 236 

"        fate  of 285 

"       used  by  him  on  his  journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon  in  1791 258 

Coasters,  wine,  invented  by  Washington 249 

"        their  popularity 250 

"        picture  of 251 

Cochran,  Dr.  John,  Washington's  letter  to 122 

Coffee  pot,  Washington's  silver 251 

Coffins,  marble,  remains  of  Washington  a  d  his  wife  re-entombed  in,  in  1S87         340 

Coffin  of  Washington .   826 

"        inscription  on  plates  on ...  326 

Coffin,  marble,  of  Washington,  picture  of 34'2 

"        sculptured  lid  of  Wash  ngton's,  picture  of 842 

Column  of  July  in  the  Place  de  Bastile ..     ..220 

Commission  as  commander-in-chief  resigned  by  Washington  in  1TS8 .' 118 

Commissioners  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  consult  Washington  in  1785 179 

Confederation,  Articles  qf,  inefficiency  of 1 78 

"        movement  toward  the  amendment  of 178 

Congress,  general,  proposed  by  Dr.  Franklin,  meets  at  Philadelphia 86 

"        assembling  of  delegates  to 88 

"       opening  of  the  session  of 89 

"        officers  of 90 

"        resolution  adopted  by 90 

"        adjourned  to  meet  in  May,  1775,  if  necessary 92 

Congress.  Continental,  action  of 99 

"        adopt  an  army 99 

"        choose.  Washington  commander-in-chief 99 

Congress,  Federal,  vote  a  bronze  equestrian  statue  to  Washington  in  1783 157 

Congress,  meeting  of,  at  Philadelphia 242 

"        action  of  concerning  seat  of  government 243 

"        verses,  respecting  the  removal  of 244 

"        effects  of  removal  of 245 

"       joint  resolutions  adopted  by,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Washington 331 

Conogocheague .    243,  244 

Conservatory  at  Mount  Vernon  destroyed  by  fire 14(5 

"        ruins  of 146 

Continental  Congress,  Washington  a  member  of  the 87 

Convention,  federal,  adopt  a  constitution  for  the  United  States 180 

"        Washington  a  member  of 180 

Correspondence  of  Washington,  extensive,  in  1792 257 

Cornwallis,  Earl,  joy  caused  by  surrender  of 118 

Costume  and  manners  of  Washington  while  president 211 

Craik,  Dr.  James,  attends  John  Parke  Custis 118 

"        at  Mount  Vernon. ..                                                                                                           .  98 


INDEX.  365 

I'AGK 

Craik.  Dr.  James,  mentioned  in  Washington's  will 214 

"        called  to  attend  Washington  in  his  last  illness ..  819 

"        portrait  of 318 

"        short  biographical  sketch  of ...    325 

Craik,  Eev.  James,  owns  the  secretary  that  belonged  to  Washington    214 

Crayon  profile  of  Washington 29li 

"        of  Mrs.  Washington  . . 297 

Crest  of  Washington  engraved  upon  his  family  plate 251 

Cunningham,  Miss  Anna  Pamela,  regent  of  Mount  Vernon 858 

Cushing,  wife  of  Judge,  extract  from  a  letter  of,  describing  her  visit  at  Mount  Vernon  in 

February,  1T99    309 

Custis,  Daniel  Parke,  Mrs.  Washington's  first  husband 49 

"        portrait  of : 50 

Custis,  Eleanor  Parke,  marriage  of  with  Lawrence  Lewis 114 

"        portrait  of ...  114 

Custis,  Elizabeth  Parke,  description  of  the  portrait  of 167 

"        portrait  of      .  168 

Custis,  G.  W.  P.,  places  an  inscribed  stone  on  Washington's  b  rth-place   22 

"        his  Recollections  of  Washington 47i 

"        description  by,  of  Washington  on  his  farm 68- 

portrait  of,  when  a  child 169 

"        portrait  of,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years 294 

"        and  G    W.  Lafayette,  persoi  al  friendship  between,  in  youth    .    ... 296 

"        letter  of,  to  Washington,  respecting  the  son  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  as  a 

suitor  for  the  hand  of  Nelly  Custis  ...     811 

"        massive  gold  ring  presented  to  Lafayette  by,  at  the  tomb  of  Washington 340 

Custis,  John  Parke,  articles  ordered  from  London  for 69 

"        arms  of  family  of 60 

"        portrait  of,  painted  by  Peale 64 

"        portrait  of  wife  of,  painted  by  Peale   81 

"        at  Mount  Vernon 104- 

'•        Washington's  letter  to,  during  his  stay  at  Mount  Vernon 104' 

children  of,  at  Mount  Vernon Ill 

•'        aide-de-camp  of  Washington 112 

death  of 118 

"        two  children  of,  adopted  by  Washington     118 

Custis,  Mrs.  Martha,  affianced  to  Colonel  Washington 49 

"        her  fortune     49 

"        her  iron  chest 50 

"        articles  for,  ordered  from  London  by  Washington .    .       56 

Custis,  Martha,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  her  sickness  and  death  85 

"        grief  of  Washington  at  the  death  of  .         85 

Custis,  Master  and  Miss,  London  orders  of  Washington  for   60 

"        accompany  Mrs.  Washington  to  New  York 208 

Custis,  Nelly,  a  son  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of 811 

"        Lawrence  Lewis  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of 811 

"        interesting  anecdote  of,  told  by  Mr.  Irving. 812 

and  Lawn  nee  Lewis  married  on  Washington's  birthday,  1799 813 

D. 

Daggett,  Dr.,  president  of  Yale  College   181 

Dandridge,  Mr.,  private  secretary  of  Washington  in  1793 274 

Davis,  Rev.  Thomas,  books  presented  to  him  by  Washington  on  the  occas  on  of  his  officiat- 
ing at  the  marriage  of  Nelly  Custis 814 

Death-bed  of  Washington,  resignation  of  Mrs.  Wash  ngton  exhibited  at 822 

'•        why   no  clergyman  was  present  at 822 

Death-chamber  of  Washington,  thoughts  suggested  to  the  author  by  a  visit  to 825 

Death  of  George  A.  Washington,  nephew  of  the  General £64 


366  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Death  of  Washington,  system  of  management,  written  by  the  General,  completed  only  four 

days  before 815 

"        health  and  vigor  of  Wash  ngton  only  a  few  days  before .  315 

"        detailed  account  of  the  illness  preceding 316-3:21 

"        announced  to    ongress  by  Hon.  John  Marshall  of  Virginia   .   .       831 

Dclaunay,  governor  of  the  Bastile .. 219 

D'Estamg  presents  a  bust  of  At.  Keeker  to  Washington 227 

"        fate  of 228 

"        letters  of 2i.9 

"  Destiny  of  Washington,"  an  allegorical  painting lt>5 

"        picture  of .         186 

"        description  of 186 

"        history  of 187 

Diary,  Wash  ngton's,  kept  in  the  blank  leaves  of  the  Virginia  Almanac 66 

"        headings  of  pages  in fiti 

"        fac-simile  of  entry  in 67 

"        extract  from,  concerning  furniture 213,214 

"        note  made  In  it  on  the  llth  of  December,  1T99 316 

Dick,  Dr.,  consulted  by  Dr.  Cra  k  on  the  occasion  of  Washington's  last  illness 819 

Dinner,  at  the  table  of  Washington   the  artist  Robertson's  description  of 259 

Dinner,  farewell,  of  Washington,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1797 280 

Dinner.  Washington  sits  down  to,  without  changing  his  damt;  clolhes,  December  12,  1799.   .   316 

Dinwiddie,  Governor,  sends  Washington  to  Ohio 39 

Dress  of  Washington  at  his  second  inauguration  minutely  described 271 

Dress-sword  of  Washington,  picture  of 211 

Dry- well  at  Mount  Vernon 147 

Duer,  President,  on  the  anxiety  of  citizens  to  see  Washington  on  his  retirement  from  office,  281 

Dunlap,  William,  paints  Washington's  portrait 158 

Dunmore,  unsuccessful  attempt  of,  to  desolate  Mount  Vernon 105 

Dunn.  Washington's  coachman 234 

Dutch  tile  in  Washington's  b.rth-place,  picture  of 2(1 

E. 

Earl  of  Buchan,  letter  of,  accompanying  the  oaken  box  sent  by  him  to  Washington 258 

Elizabethtown  Point,  Washington  met  at,  by  a  committee  of  Congress 200 

Elkanah  Watson,  anecdote  of  his,  respecting  his  vis  t  at  Mount  Vernon 304 

Ellenborough,  Lord,  nephew  of,  marries  the  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington 110 

Emblazoning  on  Washington's  coach, 288 

English  traders  driven  away  from  the  Ohio  by  the  French 39 

Et.quette,  doubts  of  Washington  in  relation  10 2('5 

Eulogy  of  Washington  written  on  the  back  of  the  Pitcher  Portrait 350 

Eulogy  of  Washington,  written  on  the  back  of  the  Sharpless  profile 352-354 

Evans,  Mrs.  Eliza,  daughter  of  General  Anthony  Walton  White (6 

Evening— a  landscape,  by  Winstanley 305 

Everett,  Edward,  large  sum  paid  by,  into  the  treasury  of  the  Ladie*'  Mirunt  Vei-nim  ASKO- 

ciation 857 

F. 

Fairfax,  Anne,  wife  of  Lawrence  Washington   28 

Fairfax,  Brynn,  at  Mount  Vernon  with  Major  Gates '•  8 

Fairfax,  General,  leader  of  the  Parliamentary  forces 14 

Fairfax,  Lord 29 

"        large  domain  of,  in  Virginia  . 30 

"        death  of,  at  Green  way  <  ourt,  in  17fc2 30 

Fairfax,  Sir  William 2i> 

"        a  soldier  in  the  Indies 31 

"        narratives  of,  influence  young  Washington 31 


INDEX  367 

PAGE 

Fairfax,  Washington  a  vestryman  of  the  parish  of 72 

Family  dinner  at  Washington's  house  in  New  York 20P 

Family  plate  of  Washington  made  over  again  in  New  York,  and  additions  made  to,  in  17J>9  .  251 

"        several  pieces  of,  now  in  use  at  Arlington  House 251 

Farowell  Address  of  Washington,  prepared  by  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon 276 

"        profound  sensation  caused  by  its  publication ' 277 

"        said  by  Alison  to  be  unequalled  as  an  uninspired  composition 277 

Farewell  dinner  of  Washington  at  Philadelphia,  in  1797 280 

Federal  city,  Major  L'Enfant  employed  to  make  a  plan  and  survey  of 256 

"        named  by  the  commissioners  without  Washington's  knowledge  257 

"        point  of  land  selected  by  Washington  for  the 256 

"        singular  historical  fact  respecting  the  site  of  the 256 

"        Washington  meets  commiss'oners  to  lay  out 256 

Federal  Convention,  Washington  president  of 180 

Fencing,  Washington  takes  lessons  in,  from  Van  Braam 36 

Field,  an  English  painter,  takes  a  button  from  Washington's  coat 81 

"        anecdote  of 82 

"        becomes  a  bishop  in  Canada 88 

First  President  of  the  United  States,  Washington  elected 189 

Flag,  British,  captured  at  Yorktown,  presented  to  Washington,  picture  of 104 

Flag  Hessian,  presented  to  Washington 102 

"        picture  and  description  of 103 

Flower-garden  at  Mount  Vernon,  plants  in 143 

Fort  du  Quesne  taken  possession  of  by  Colonel  Washington 46 

France,  hostile  attitude  of,  in  1795 806 

"        preparations  made  for  war  with,  in  1798 307 

•'        pacific  relations  w.th,  on  the  overthrow  of  the  Directory  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte..  310 
"        unanimity  of  military  leaders  in  looking  to  Washington  in  the  impending  war  with,  807 

Franklin,  Dr.,  to  superintend  making  of  statue  of  Washington 158 

Franklin's  staff  willed  to  Washington 120 

Fraunces'  Tavern,  at  New  York.  Washington  parted  with  his  officers  at  1 17 

Frederick  the  Great,  his  praise  of  Washington    102 

Fredericksburg,  Washington  visits  his  mother  at  in  1781 115 

Freemasons  at  the  funeral  of  Washington   827,  329 

French  Directory,  insolent  attitude  of,  toward  the  United  States  307 

French  dominion  ceases  south  of  Lake  Erie,  on  Washington's  taking  Fort  du  Quesne 47 

French  minister,  furniture  of,  purchased  by  Washington    214 

French  officers'  admiration  of  Washington's  mother 115 

Frestel,  M.,  tutor  of  young  Lafayette,  favorable  mention  of,  by  Washington . . . .  •   293 

Funeral  of  Washington,  detailed  account  of 326-829 

"        minute  guns  fired  from  schooner  of  Mr.  Robert  Hamilton,  during 827 

Funeral  procession  of  Washington,  gentlemen  who  made  the  arrangements  for 827 

"        composition  and  order  of • 328 

G. 

Galveston,  Spanish  ship-of-war,  salutes  Washington     200 

Garden-house  at  Mount  Vernon,  picture  of 148 

Gardens  at  Mount  Vernon 142 

Gardoqui,  Don  Diego,  at  Washington's  table  208 

Gates,  Major  Horatio,  at  Mount  Vernon 93 

"        sketch  of  portrait  of 96 

"        w  th  Bryan  Fairfax,  at  Mount  Vernon  98 

Germantown,  Washington  proposes  to  call  Congress  together  at,  in  consequence  of  the  pres- 
ence of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia 273 

"        family  of  Washington  at,  in  the  summer  of  1794 274 

Giles,  Tommy,  notice  of 246,  247 

Gist,  agent  of  English  Ohio  Company,  questioned  by  an  Indian   88 

Glass-ware,  first  manufactured  in  the  United  States ..  190 

"        Washington's  letter  to  Jefferson  respecting : 191 


368  INDEX. 

PACK 

Gloucester,  Duke  of,  speaks  of  the  Americans  in  presence  of  Lafayette 149 

Goblets,  silver,  belonging  to  Washington 123 

u  picture  of  one 124 

Gold  medal  decreed  to  Washington  by  Congress  for  the  recovery  of  Boston  101 

"  picture  of 102 

Gorget,  silver,  worn  by  Washington,  while  in  the  colonial  service,  history  of,  by  Mr.  Quincy  345 

Graham.  Mrs.  Macaulay,  modest  allusion  of  Washington  to  the  visit  of,  in  1785 314 

Gray's  Ferry,  Washington's  reception  at 19b 

Greene,  General,  Washington  dines  with  the  widow  of,  in  1791 256 

Greene,  Rev.  Ashbel,  particular  description  by,  of  Washington's  hab.ts  at  table 288 

Greenway  Court 80 

Greenwood,  Isaac  I.,  owner  of  Washington's  pistols 226 

Gunston  Hall,  the  seat  of  George  Mason 71 

H. 

Hale,  Sir  Matthew,  his  "Contemplations  Moral  and  Divine,"  read  by  Washington's  mother,  17 

Hallam,  Lewis,  at  tho  head  of  a  company  of  players  C4 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  letter  of,  to  Washington,  on  peace 116 

"       proposes  a  convention  of  states  to  amend  the  Articles  of  Confederation 17& 

"        urges  Washington  to  accept  office  a  second  term 269 

"        appointed  first  major-general  of  the  Provisional  Army 809 

Hamilton,  Mr.  liobert,  fires  minute  guns  from  his  schooner  during  the  funeral  of  Washington  827 

Harpsichord  presented  to  Nelly  Custis  by  Washington 267 

"        now  at  Arlington  House 268 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  goes  with  Washington  to  the  Congress  in  1775 99 

"        governor  of  Virginia,  letter  of,  respecting  the  statue  of  Washington 161 

Hay,  Colonel  Samuel,  pistols  presented  to,  by  Washington .   226 

Henry  Lee,  General,  portrait  of 882 

Henry,  Patrick,  speech  of,  in  Virgin-u  Assembly 71 

"        at  Mount  Vernon,  on  his  way  to  the  first  Congress 88 

portrait  of 89 

"       business  of  Congress  opened  by 90 

Head-quarters.  Washington's  first 40 

"        picture  of    41 

Home  of  Washington,  as  it  was  in  1759 58 

Home  and  tomb  of  Washington  to  be  ever  cherished  as  memorial  treasures 359 

Hopkinson,  Francis,  portrait  of,  painted  by  Pine 166 

"        letter  of  Washington  to,  in  relation  to  his  sitting  to  Pine  for  his  portrait 166 

Hospitalities,  Washington's,  reasons  for  declining,  on  his  Southern  tour  in  1791 254 

Houdon,  the  sculptor,  engaged  to  make  a  statne  of  Washington 161 

"        his  bust  of  Washington 162 

"        letter  of  Washington  to 162 

Houdon's  bust  of  Washington,  picture  of '168 

Hounds,  French,  presented  to  Washington  by  Lafayette 169 

"       anecdote  of  one  of  them 170 

Humphreys,  Colonel,  accompanies  Washington  to  Mount  Vernon  in  17bl 106 

"        resident  guest  at  Mount  Vernon 181 

"        portrait  of 181 

"        brings  pictures  from  King  Louis  to  Washington 182 

"        writes  his  Life  of  Putnam  at  Mount  Vernon 182 

Hunting  establishment  at  Mount  Vernon  broken  up 170 

I. 

Ice-house  at  Mount  Vernon,  picture  of 147 

Inauguration  of  John  Adams 281 

Inauguration  of  Washington,  as  first  president  of  the  United  States  201 

"        less  parade  at  the  second  than  at  the  first 270 

'*        pleasant  picture  of  the  second 270 

Inkstand  of  Washington,  description  of 299 

u       picture  of 300 


INDEX.  369 

.1  .  PAGK 

lackson.  Major,  accompanies  Washington  to  Mount  Vernon  and  on  his  Southern  tour,  in  1791,  258 

Jane  an d  Mary  Washington,  autographs  of 18 

.lay,  John,  letter  of  Washington  to,  in  1786 ITS 

"  anxiety  of  Washington  respecting  the  treaty  made  by 275 

Jay,  Ke  v.  William,  impromptu  lines  of,  on  seeing  a  picture  of  Mount  Vernon 359 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  letter  of,  respecting  Iloudon 161 

"        letter  of,  respecting  bust  of  Lafayette 229 

K. 

Key  of  the  Bastile,  letter  of  Washington  to  Lafayette  respecting  the 223 

Kitchen  and  dancine-hall  erected  by  Mr.  Custis  at  Arlington  Spring 258 

Knox,  General,  Washington's  letter  to,  respecting  his  going  into  office 191 

"        at  Washington's  inauguration .  202 

"        letter  of  Washington  to,  two  nays  before  his  retirement  to  private  life 278,  288 

"        appointed  third  major-general  of  the  Provisional  Army 809; 

L, 

Ladies'  Mount  Vernon  Association  the  present  owners  of  Mount  Vernon 857 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  visit  of,  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1784 149 

"        arrival  of  at  New  York,  in  1784 150 

"        Washington's  intuitive  perception  of  his  character  on  his  first  arriv.il 150 

"        letter  of,  to  Washington  at  New  York 151 

'•        portrait  of 152 

"        commander  of  National  Guard  in  France 219 

"        sends  key  of  Bastile  to  Thomas  Paine,  to  be  sent  by  him  to  Washington 220 

letter  of,  to  Washington,  presenting  key  of  the  Bast ile .  222 

bust  of,  at  Mount  Vernon . .   229 

"        picture  of  bust  of 230 

"        ceremony  at  the  presentation  of  the  bust  of,  to  the  c  ty  of  Paris 231 

anxiety  of  Washington  respecting  the  misfortunes  of 285 

"        a  prisoner  in  a  dungeon  at  Olinutz  for  three  years 289 

"        wife  and  daughters  of,  share  his  prison  at  Olmutz 289 

'•        letter  of  Washington  to,  respecting  his  son .     292 

"        massive  gold  ring  presented  to,  by  Mr.  Custis,  at  the  tomb  of  Wash  ngton 340 

I.at'nyette,  George  Washington,  accompanies  Washington  to    -.omit  Vernon,  on  his  retire- 
ment from  office  in  1797 285- 

portrait  of 286- 

arrives  at  Boston  from  France  in  1795 289 

"        parental  feelings  of  Washington  toward 289 

"        reasons  of  state  govern  Washington's  manner  of  receiving,  <m  his  arrival  from  France,  289 

•'        letter  of  Edward  Livingston  to i>91 

"        resolution  of  Congress  respecting 291 

return  of  to  France,  in  1797 2y2 

letterof  to  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  in  1825 295 

Lafayette,  Madame,  letter  of  Washington  to 184 

"        her  admiration  of  Washington   152 

"        sends  Masonic  apron  to  Washington .   158 

"        picture  of  Masonic  apron  sent  by,  to  Washington 158 

"Lament  of  Washington,"  pnem  from  the  pen  of  Attorney-General  Bradford,  respecting  the 

misfortunes  of  Lafayette 287 

Lungdon,  John,  president  of  the  United  States  senate  }>ro  tempo  re 192 

informs  Washington  by  letter  of  his  elevation  to  the  presidency 192 

Lantern,  ancient  iron,  eighty  years  at  Mount  Vernon,  now  at  Arlington  House  802 

"        picture  of 301 

I. a  Salle,  commander-in -chief  of  the  militia  of  Paris 218 

Lust  illness  of  Washington,  detailed  account  of 816-321 

Last  words  of  Washington 821 

Lawrence  Washington,  goes  to  Barbadoes  for  his  health 87 

24 


370  INDEX. 

„  PAOR 

Lawrence  Washington,  accompanied  to  Barhadoes  by  his  brother  George 37 

"        his  return  home  from  liarbadors,  and  death 37 

Lear,  Tobias,  becomes  a  resident  at  Mount  Vernon 1 77 

"        his  stay  there  remembered  in  Washington's  will 177 

"        letters  of  Washington  to,  relating  to  his  coach 236 

"        letters  of  Washington  to,  relating  to  his  house  and  furniture  in  Philadelphia..  .236-  239 

"        residing  in  the  family  of  Washington  at  the  time  of  his  last  illness 31fi 

Lee,  General  Charles,  at  Mount  Vernon .  .     93 

"        portrait  of 94 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  letter  of,  to  Washington,  when  a  child 23 

"        the  first  to  congratulate  Washington  after  his  taking  the  oath  of  office 202 

"        his  opinion  of  Tlte  Rights  of  Man  by  Thomas  Paine 262 

u       letter  of  Washington  to,  respecting  a  newly-invented  threshing-machine 273 

"        invited  to  pronounce  an  oration  on  the  occasion  of  Washington's  funeral 882 

"        anecdote  of,  showing  his  familiarity  with  Washington , 333 

Lee,  Mrs.  Hobert  E.,  the  great-granddanghter  of  Mrs.  Washington 85 

Lemon-tree  at  Mount  Vernon     144 

L'Enfant  Major,  employed  to  furnish  a  plan  and  survey  of  the  federal  city 256 

"        his  plans  of  the  federal  city  approved  of  by  Congress 257 

Lepine,  watches  made  by,  purchased  by  Washington 206 

Levees,  Washington's.. 211 

Lewis,  George,  inherits  a  sword  from  Washington 212 

Lewis,  Lawrence,  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  Nelly  Custis. 311 

"       invited  to  take  up  his  residence  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1798 ?10 

"        and  Nelly  Custis  married  on  Washington's  birthday,  1799 313 

Lewis,  Major,  re-entombs  remains  of  Washington  and  his  wife  in  marble  sarcophng  ,  n  1837,  340 

Lewis,  llobert,  instructed  by  Washington  in  the  management  of  his  estate 25" 

Lexington,  effects  of  the  news  of  the  battle  of,  at  Mount  Vernon 93 

Liquor-chest  that  belonged  to  Washington,  remaining  at  Mount  Vernon  i  n  1 S57 346 

"        picture  of 347 

Livermore,  Mr.  George,  h'8  account  of  a  silver  gorget,  a  rel.c  of  Wash  ngton's  earlier  lite 844 

Livingston,  Chancellor,  administers  the  oath  of  office  to  Washington  in  1*89 201 

Livingston.  Edward,  letter  of,  to  George  Washington  Lafayette 291 

Livingston,  Governor,  entertains  Mrs.  Washington -.09 

Livingston,  Uobert  K.,  secretary  for  foreign  affairs 116 

"        letter  of,  to  Washington,  communicating  the  news  of  the  conclusion  of  peace,  in  1783.  1 1 6 

London  Chronicle,  sketch  of  Washington  in Ill 

Louis  XVI.  sends  an  engraving  of  himself  to  Washington Ih2 

Lunt,  his  lines  on  the  burial-place  of  Washington 334 

JK. 

McCombs.  house  of,  occupied  by  Washington 214 

Macubbin,  Mrs  ,  opens  a  ball  at  Annapolis  with  Washington 118 

Mcllenry,  Mr.  letter  of  Washington  to,  from  Mount  Vernon,  after  his  retirement 298 

"        letter  of  Washington  to,  respecting  the  anticipated  troubles  with  France 308 

"        anxiety  of  Washington  expressed  to,  that  his  affairs  might  be  found  in  order  after 

his  death 315 

McKean,  Sally,  becomes  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  d'  Frugo 27(i 

Mcl-hcrson's  Blues,  six  survivors  ot,  in  1S59 383 

"        picture  of  uniform  of 334 

Madison,  James,  wr  tes  an  inscription  for  the  statue  of  Washington 160 

"        at  Mount  Vernon  with  Houdon,  the  French  sculptor 168 

Mansion  near  the  Potomac,  the  home  of  the  Washington  family 18 

Mansion,  the  presidential,  at  Philadelphia,  picture  of 253 

Manuscript  memorandum  of  Washington 149 

Marble  coffin  of  Washington,  picture  of. 842 

Marqu6e  and  Tent  of. Washington 1 24,  1 25 

"        p  cture  of  portmanteaux  contain  ng 126 

Marriages  of  foreign  envoys  with  American  women,  numerous 276 

Marshall,  Hon  John,  announces  the  death  of  Washington  to  <  ongress 331 


INDEX.  371 

PAGE 

Mason,  George,  Washington's  ne.ghbor  and  frieud 71 

Masonic  apron  presented  to  Washington  by  Madame  Lafayette 153 

•'        picture  of. ....   158 

Massey,  Kev.  Lee,  minister  of  Pohick  Church 75 

Maurepas,  Count,  remark  of,  in  relation  to  Lafayette 150 

Meade,  Bishop,  notice  of  MASOII  L.  Weenis,  by 75 

"        letter  ft,  in  relation  to  Washington's  English  coach  235 

Mercer,  Dr.  Hugh,  at  Mount  Vernon 93 

Mifflin,  Governor,  meets  Washington  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania 197 

Military  clothes  of  Washington,  picture  of 119 

Miniature  of  Washington,  by  Mrs.  Sharpless ,. . .  296 

Miniature  portrait  of  Mrs.  Washington,  painted  by  liobertson  in  1792 260 

Mirror  of  Washington  still  at  Mount  Vernon 848 

"        picture  of. 817 

Monuments  of  several  members  of  the  Washington  family  on  the  east  side  of  the  tomb  of 

the  General     844 

"Morning"   and  "Evening" — landscapes  painted  for  Washington,  by  Winstanley,  now  at 

Arlington  House 806 

Morris,  George  P.,  his  ode  on  Washington's  sword  and  Franklin's  staff 121 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  stands  to  Houdon  for  the  figure  of  Washington 166 

"        sends  wine-coolers  to  Washington   248 

Morris,  Mrs.,  accompanies  Mrs.  Washington  to  New  York 209 

Morris,  Robert,  builds  a  studio  for  Pine  the  portrait  painter 166 

"        house  of,  in  Philadelphia,  rented  for  Washington's  residence 286 

Morris,  Roger,  marries  Mary  Phillipse 45 

"        picture  of  his  residence 46 

"        proscribed,  as  an  "enemy  to  his  country"   46 

Mortar,  bronze,  that  belonged  to  Cimon  Washington  in  1664,  picture  of 16 

Mossom,  Rev.  David,  unites  Washington  and  Mrs.  Custis  in  marriage 51 

Mother  of  Washington,  visited  by  him  for  the  last  time 194 

Motier,  a  family  name  of  Lafayette  assumed  by  his  son  in  1795  290 

"Motto  of  the  Washington  family 16 

Mount  Vernon,  the  mansion  at,  built  by  Lawrence  Washington 28 

"        style  of  living  at,  before  the  Revolution 61 

"        picture  of  present  landing  at .-. 69 

"       changes  in  and  around 92 

little  children  at 110 

"        sorrow  at,  in  1781 112 

"        mansion  at,  and  its  surroundings  described 186 

"        mansion  and  other  buildings  at,  found  by  the  General  much  in  want  of  repair,  after 

his  eight  years'  absence 299 

'•        hospitalities  at,  continued  after  the  death  of  the  General 836 

"        passes  into  the  possession  of  Bushrod  Washington,  nephew  of  the  General,  on  the 

death  of  Mrs.  Washington 386 

"        becomes  the  property  of  John  Augustine  Washington  in  18.9 840 

"        Mrs.  Jane  Washington  mistress  of,  in  1832 840 

"        few  articles  of  the  personal  property  of  Washington  remaining  at 844 

"        articles  that  belonged  to  Washington,  remaining  at,  in  1857 846 

"        engravings  that  belonged  to  Washington  still  remaining  at 349 

"        successive  owners  of,  for  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years       355 

"        inconsiderate  conduct  of  visitors  at 855 

"        for  many  years  falling  into  decay .    . .  855 

"        proposition  to  make  it  a  national  possession '. 366 

'        high  price  offered  by  speculators  for,  rejected » 856 

"        the  property  of  the  Ladies'  Mmvnt  Vernon  Association 857 

"        the  work  of  renovation  and  restoration  commenced  at ..  857  . 

"        moral  associations  connected  with  the  name 858 

Moustier,  Count  de,  French  minister,  at  Mount  Vernon 184 

Mural  candelabra,  used  in  Washington's  dining-room  at  Philadelphia,  picture  of 301 


372  INDEX. 

Hf.  PAGE 

Necker,  M.,  dismissed  from  his  post  as  minister  of  finance,  in  France 219 

"       bust  of,  presented  to  Washington 

"        inscriptions  on  bust  of,  presented  to  Washington 228 

"        picture  of  bust  of  Necker,  presented  to  Washington ....  229 

Newport,  Rhode  Island,  Washington  makes  a  voyage  to,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health   214 

North,  Lord,  emotions  of,  on  hearing  of  the  defeat  of  Cornwallis  116 

O. 

Oath  of  office  administered  to  Washington  in  1793,  by  Judge  Cusbing 269 

Occoquan  Falls,  mills  at,  destroyed  by  Lord  Dunmore 105 

Ode  to  Washington  sung  at  Trenton 199 

Ogden,  Charles  S.,  original  study  of  Peale's  first  portrait  of  Washington,  in  possession  of 68 

Olmutz,  dungeon  at,  the  prison  of  Lafayette  for  three  years .  289 

Ora'ion  pronounced  by  General  Henry  Lee,  on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  Washington  . .  882 
Otis,  Mr.,  holds  the  Bible  at  Washington's  inauguration .201 

P. 

Packsaddle  used  by  Washington  on  his  expedition  to  the  Ohio  country  in  1T53,  picture  of. . .    39 

Paine,  Thomas,  letter  of  to  Washington  respecting  the  key  of  the  Bastile 2-22 

"        letter  of  to  Washincton  respecting  the  success  of  "  Tin  Rigid*  nf  J/an,'' 262 

"       Washington  shamefully  abused  by,  in  a  published  letter 2fi3 

Patrick  Henry's  opinion  of  Washington 91 

Patrick  Henry,  Washington  heard  the  burning  words  of,  in  the  Virginia  Assembly 97 

Peace,  desire  for  in  England 116 

"        Washington's  letter  to  Clinton  on  the  subject  of 116 

Peale,  Angelica,  crowns  Washington  at  Gray's  Ferry  in  17S9 19S 

Peale,  Charles  Willson,  beginning  of  artist  life  of 80 

paints  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1772 80 

"        portrait  of 81 

fac-simile  of  his  receipt  for  ten  guineas  for  painting  miniature  of  Mrs.  Washington,    t8 

"        ordered  by  Gov  Harrison  to  paint  a  portrait  of  Washington  to  make  a  statue  from,  161 

"        emblematic  paintings  by,  on  the  occasion  of  Wash  ngton's  retirement  from  office . .  282 

Peale,  Rembrandt,  his  history  of  the  Pitcher  Portrait  and  the  eulogy  on  the  back  of  it  ....  849 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  at  Mount  Vernon  on  his  way  to  the  first  Congress 88 

Peters,  Judge,  meets  Washington  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania 197 

Philadelphia  the  federal  city  for  ten  years 244 

Phillipse,  Mary,  Washington  in  love  with 4"> 

"        marries  Roger  Morris     45 

"        portrait  of  . . 5 

Pinckney,  Gov.  Charles  Cotesworth,  receives  Washington  at  the  wharf  in  Charleston,  in  1791,  255 

"        reply  of,  to  the  insulting  proposition  of  the  French  Directory 307 

"        appointed  second  major-general  of  the  Provisional  Army 309 

Pine,  Robert  Edge,  an  English  painter,  at  Mount  Vernon 165 

"        his  portrait  of  Washington  in  Montreal 1 68 

Pistols,  Washington's,  description  and  picture  of 228 

Pitcher  Portrait,  and  eulogy  of  Washington  on  the  back  of  it 349-354 

Plan  of  the  grounds  at  Mount  Vernon 141,142 

Plaster  cast  taken  of  the  face  of  Washington 158 

Plate,  Washington's,  pictare  of  pieces  of,  at  Arlington  House. ...         25'2 

Pohick  Church,  Washington  attends 73 

"        rebuilding  of, 78 

"        Washington's  drawing  of 73 

li        author's  visit  to 77 

"        picture  of 78 

"        present  condition  of 79 

"        picture  of  pulpit "9 

Precedents  established  for  the  President  of  the  United  Slates 20ft 

Presence  of  Washington,  remarkable  sense  of  awe  caused  by 271 


INDEX.  373 

1'AGK 

Presidential  mansion  at  Philadelphia,  picture  of 258 

Profile  portrait  of  Washington 29:i 

Profile  portrait  of  Mrs.  Washington 297 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  burial  service  of  Wash  ngton  according  to  the  r.tual  of  327 

Provisional  Army,  Washington  appointed  coimiiander-in-chief  of,  in  view  of  the  impending 

war  with  France. 803 

"        major-generals  and  other  officers  appointed  by  Washington 309 

Punch-bowl,  tea-table,  and  sideboard,  picture  of 303 

Putnam,  Life  of,  written  at  Mount  Vernon  by  Humphrey* 182 

R. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  chosen  president  of  first  Congress 90 

Ranney,  letter  of  Washington  to,  in  relation  to  his  sending  flag-stones,  &c,,  from  England ...  139 
Rawlins,  Mr.,  one  of  Washington's  overseers,  sent  for  to  bleed  Washington  in  his  last  Ilness,  318 

Reading  of  Washington  at  his  second  inauguration 272 

Receptions  of  Mrs.  Washington 210 

Receptions  of  Washington  at  New  York  and  at  Philadelphia 211,  212 

Jieco/lectiona  and  Private  Memoirs  ff  Waxfthigton,  interesting  corresi  ondence  of  Wash- 
ington to  be  found  in   812 

Remains  of  Washington,  account  of  the  re-entombment  of,  in  !S-'57   K40-84H 

Resolution,  important,  passed  by  the  first  Congress 90 

Retirement  from  office  of  Washington,  extract  from  a  newsjKiper  of  the  day.  describing  a 

public  entertainment  on  the  occasion  of ....  2*2 

Revolution,  flames  of,  kindling,  in  1773 86 

Revolution,  involuntary  tribute  by  ladies  to  the  memory  of •. -,53 

Revolution,  French,  breaking  out  of 21S 

Kipon,  Karl  of,  present  owner  of  the  English  seat  of  the  Washington  family IG 

Rochambeaii,  Count  de,  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1181 106 

"        portrait  of 107 

Room  in  which  Washington  died,  picture  of. 824 

Roosevelt,  M r.,  funeral  ot  the  wife  of 205 

Rush,  Dr.,  remarks  of,  in  relation  to  the  seat  of  government 248 

Rush,  the  late  venerable  Richard,  incident  related  by,  illustrating  the  feelings  of  Washington 

toward  Lafayette  in  misfortune 267 

S. 

Sago  palm  at  Mount  Vernon 145 

St.  John's  Lodge,  in  New  York,  in  possession  of  the  Bible  used  at  Washington's  inauguration,  208 

Sarcophagi  of  Washington  and  his  wife,  description  of 342 

Seal,  impression  of  Washington's,  attached  to  a  death-warrant 17 

Seal,  impression  of  Washington's  last  watch,  picture  of 2H7 

Seal-ring,  picture  of  Washington's 17 

Seals,  Washington's  watch,  lost  on  Braddock's  field  and  in  Virginia,  and  afterward  found 17 

•'        pictures  of 17 

Secretary,  Washington's,  willed  to  Dr.  Craik 214 

'•        picture  of 215 

Sharpless,  James,  his  profile  portraits  of  Washington  and  Mrs.  Washington  said  to  be  the  h^t 

likenesses  extant         295 

Sharpless,  Mrs.,  beautiful  miniature  of  Washington  \>y 29t< 

Shield,  silver,  on  Washington's  coffin,  picture  of 327 

Sideboard,  black  walnut,  that  belonged  to  Lawrence  Washington,  now  at  Arlington  House.  802 

Silver  candlestick.  Washington's,  picture  of 808 

Silver  inkstand  of  Washington,  description  of 299 

Sotomayer,  Duke  ot;  a  native  of  Philadelphia 276 

Southern  States,  tour  of  Washington  through,  in  1791 264 

Spaniards,  depredations  of,  on  British  commerce  in  the  West  Indies 25 

Spy  glass.  Washington's  anecdote  in  connection  with 224 

'•        picture  of 224 


374  INDEX. 

V  AC.K 

Statuary,  orders  of  Washington  for,  from  London 58 

Statue,  bronze,  of  Washington,  ordered  by  Congress 157 

'•        to  be  made  by  the  best  sculptor  in  Europe .  158 

Statue  of  Washington,  ordered  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia 159 

Steuben,  Baron,  at  Washington's  inauguration 202 

Stockton,  Annis,  assistance  of,  in  honoring  Washington  at  Trenton 199 

Strickland,  Mr.,  his  description  of  the  personal  appearance  of  Major  Lewis  in  1837 841 

Struthers,  Mr.  John,  marble  sarcophagi  presented  by,  for  the  re-entombing  of  the  remains 

of  Washington  and  his  wife,  in  1S37 340 

Stuart,  David,  Washington  wills  his  telescope  and  shaving  apparatus  to 35,  65 

"        marries  the  widow  of  John  Purke  Custis 35 

Stuart,  Gilbert,  painter  of  Eleanor  Parke  Custis 115 

Style,  old  and  new,  how  it  originated 20 

Summer-house  at  Mount  Vernon,  picture  of. 148 

Sword  and  staff,  Washington's  and  Franklin's,  picture  of,  and  ode  by  George  P.  Morris 121 

Sword,  Washington's,  picture  of • 211 

"        will  concerning 212 

T. 

Table,  particular  description  by  Rev.  Ashbel  Greene  of  Washington's  habits  at 288 

Tea-table,  Washington's,  now  at  Arlington  house,  description  of. 802 

Telescope,  Washington's,  in  the  possession  of  the  wife  of  Kev.  A.  B.  Atkinson 35 

"        picture  of r 36 

Telescope,  Washington's  pocket,  presented  to  General  Jackson 225 

The,  Entry,  a  satire,  published  in  17b9  201 

Thomson,  Charles,  secretary  of  Congress,  carries  to  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  a  notice 

of  his  election  to  the  presidency 192 

"        portraitof 193 

Thornton,  Dr.,  his  plan  for  the  capitol  approved  of  by  Washington 257 

Threshing-machine,  letter  of  Washington  to  General  Henry  Lee  respecting  one 278 

Tomb  of  Washington  broken  into  thirty  years  after  his  death 330 

"       description  of 342-344 

"        p'cture  of 343 

Travelling  writing-case,  Washington's,  picture  of 125 

Tray,  Washington's  silver,  anecdote  respecting 252 

Trenton,  triumphal  arch  at,  in  honor  of  Washington 199 

Trunk,  Washington's  travelling,  described 121 

"        picture  of 122 

Truro  Point.  Washington  a  vestryman  at 72 

V. 

Van  Braam,  teaches  Washington  the  art  of  fencing 36 

Vases,  porcelain,  that  belonged  to  Washington,  picture  of 174 

Vaughan  Samuel,  presents  a  marble  chimney-piece  to  Washington 171 

Vault,  the  Washington  family,  site  of  a  proposed  new  one  indicated  to  Major  Lewis  by 

Washington,  a  few  days  before  his  death 315 

Vault,  the  Washington  family,  directions  left  in  the  General's  will  concerning    3£9 

Vault,  old,  of  the  Washington  family,  picture  of 380 

Vernon,  Admiral,  commander-in-chief  of  the  English  navy  in  the  West  Indies 25 

"        portrait  of 26 

"        medal  in  commemoration  of  h.s  capture  of  Porto  Bello,  preserved  at  Mount  Vernon     27 

Virginia,  address  of  legislature  of,  to  Washington   ^  .  160 

"        legislature  of,  vote  a  statue  of  Washington 15!) 

Von  Berckel,  copy  of  an  allegorical  picture  painted  by  the  wife  of 186 

Vulcan,  a  French  hound,  anecdote  of 171 

W. 

Walker,  Colonel,  aide  to  Baron  Steuben,  takes  a  letter  to  Gov.  Clinton  from  Mount  Vernon,  118 
Wallace,  words  of,  brought  to  memory  of  the  author,  while  occupied  in  sketching  the  death- 
chamber  of  Washington   325 


INDEX.  375 

I'AGK 

Warville,  Brissot  de.  at  Mount  Vernon 187 

Washington  and  tlie  Knirfiixes  in  Virginia  in  political  opposition 16 

Washington,  a  page  of  Charles  I.,  dies  at  Madrid 14 

Washington,  Augustine,  father  of  George,  death  of 24 

"        bequeaths  Hunting  Creek  estate  to  Lawrence 24 

Washington  Benevolent  Society,  recipient  of  Washington's  masonic  apron 154 

Washington,  Bushrod,  wills  his  watch  to  Mr.  Adams 206 

"        receives  a  sword  from  General  Washington   212 

"        becomes  master  of  Mount  Vernon  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Washington  386 

Washington   Colonel  William,  hospitalities  of  proffered  to  Washington  on  his  Southern  tour,  254 

Washington  family  emigrate  to  America  nine  years  after  the  death  of  Charles  1 15 

Washington,  George,  a  boy  at  Mount  Vernon 29 

'•        about  to  enter  the  navy - 81 

"        a  letter  from  his  uncle  10  his  mother  decides  her  against  his  going  to  sea 3-<! 

"        returns  to  school,  and  loves  a  "lowland  beauty"    32 

"        goes  to  live  with  his  brother  at  Mount  Vernon 33 

"        the  friend  of  George  William  Fairfax 33 

"        admires  Fairfax's  wife's  sister 38 

il        hunts  with  old  Lord  Fairfax 33 

u        goes  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  as  a  surveyor 34 

"        appointed  public  surveyor 84 

"        record  of  his  commission 85 

"        commissioned  adjutant  of  his  military  district 35 

"        heir  to  the  Mount  Vernon  estate 37 

"        his  property  on  the  Rappahannoek 37 

"        sent  by  Dinwiddie  to  the  Ohio 89 

"        again  in  the  field  in  1T54 40 

"        made  colonel  in  1754 41 

"        leaves  the  service  and  retires  to  Mount  Vernon 41 

"        his  mother  endeavors  to  dissuade  him  from  go  ng  to  ihe  field  again 43 

"        enters  Braddoek's  family 48 

"        preserved  on  the  field  of  blood     .    43 

"        most  of  the  tim«  in  camp  for  four  years  afterward,  except  when  sick . .     44 

"        his  journey  to  Boston  in  1756. 44 

"        sick  at  Mount  Vernon . 47 

'        a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia 47 

"        story  of  his  love  and  courtship 47 

"        takes  his  bride  to  Mount  Vernon .... 51 

"        personal  appearance  of,  at  the  time  of  his  marriaga .      .     52 

"        present  from  Frederick  the  Great  to 59 

"        with  his  wife  at  the  Virginia  capital ....     ti4 

"        attends  the  theatre  at  Williamsburg 64 

"        end  of  his  dancing  days 64 

"        appearance  of,  on  his  farms 68 

"        chief  crops  of  h  s  farms 68 

"        views  calmly  the  approaching  political  storm   .    .     71 

"        activity  of,  in  public  affairs 72 

"       a  vestryman  of  Truro  and  Fairfax  parishes 72 

"        first  portrait  of,  by  Peale,  at  the  age  of  forty S2 

"       journey  of,  to  Phila  lelpliia  as  delegate  in  the  first  Congress 89 

"        in  conference  with  Bryan  Fairfax  and  Major  Gates 98 

"        appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  Continental  army 100 

"        gold  medal  declared  by  Congress  in  his  honor. . 101 

"        letters  of,  alluding  to  his  retirement  after  the  war,  to  Knox  and  Lafayette 133    . 

Washington,  George  A.,  ill  health  of,  in  1792 257.  268 

"        distress  of  Washington  on  account  of  the  mortal  sickness  of 268 

Washington,  George  Steptoe,  receives  a  sword  from  the  General   212 

Washington,  Harriet,  a  resident  of  Mount  Vernon   265 

Washington,  Henry,  defender  of  the  English  city  of  Worcester  against  Fairfax 14 


370  INDEX. 

PAG  E 

Washington,  John  A.,  sends  a  watch  to  Mr.  Adams 207 

"        Mount  Vernon  bequeathed  to,  by  Judge  Washington 340 

Washington,  Lawrence,  i>orr.rait  of '25 

"        his  military  sp  rit   25 

"        present  at  the  attack  of  Admiral  Vernon  and  General  Wentworth  on  Carthagena  .     26 

"        friendship  of  Wentworth  and  Vernon  for 27 

"        his  marriage 28 

"        takes  possession  of  the  estate  upon  the  d.  ath  of  his  father,  and  names  it  Mount  Vernon,  23 

"        adjutant-general  of  his  district 81 

"        portrait  of.  still  at  Mount  Vernon 349 

Washington  Lodge,  Alexandria,  Washington's  masonic  apion  in 156 

Washington,  Lund,  the  General's  overse,er 104 

"        reproved  by  the  General  for  saving  Mount  Vernon  from  destruction  by  giving  aid 

to  the  enemies  of  his  country 105 

Washington,  Mrs.,  portraits  of  children  of 52 

"        portraits  of    . 53,  261,  297 

•'        in  camp  and  at  head-quarters         100 

letters  to.  from  her  husband,  destroyed  by  her 100 

"        grandchildren  of,  painted  by  Pine 167 

"        letter  of,  asking  Fanny  for  an  apron 207 

"        honors  paid  to,  on  her  way  to  New  York 206 

"        first  drawing-room  of,  at  New  York 210 

"        first  public  reception  of,  in  Philadelphia 247 

"        company  at  public  receptions  of    248 

"        excessive  fondness  of,  for  her  grandchildren 266 

resignation  of,  exhibited  at  the  death-bed  of  her  husband .'. 822 

"        reply  of.  to  Congress,  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  remains  of  her  husband 334 

"        letters  and  visits  of  condolence  to,  after  the  death  of  her  husband 335 

u        death  of,  in  1802 336 

Washington,  Mrs.  Jane,  mistress  of  Mount  Vernon  in  1832 340 

Washington,  Samuel,  receives  a  sword  from  the  General 212 

Washingtons  an  ancient  English  family 14 

Watch,  owned  by  Washington,  picture  of. 207 

Water-mark,  on  paper  m.ide  for  Washington,  picture  of .   348 

Watson  and  Cossoul,  correspondence  of,  with  Washington  respecting  his  masonic  apron   . . .   155 

Watson,  Elkanah,  anecdote  of  his,  respecting  his  visit  at  Mount  Vernon 804 

"        remarks  of,  in  relation  to  Washington's  masonic  apron 156 

Watson.  John  F.,  owns  Washington's  military  button ;.     81 

AVeems,  Kev.  Mason  L.,  officiates  at  Poll  ck  Church 75 

"       portrait  of 75 

Westford,  sole  survivor  of  Judge  Washington's  slaves,  portrait  of 83S 

White.  General  Anthony  Walton,  picture  of  gold  pen  presented  to,  by  Washington 66 

"  Widow  of  Malabar,"  translated  by  Humphreys  at  Mt.  Vernon,  performed  at  Philadelphia. .   1S3 

Will  of  Washington,  executed  in  July,  1799,  written  out  entirely  by  himself 315 

Wine-coolers,  disposition  of,  that  belonged  to  Washington . .    .     250 

picture  of, 251 

Winstanley,  William,  landscapes  "  Morning"  and  "  Evening"  painted  for  Washington  by.     ...  306 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  of  Connecticut,  prudence  of 245 

"•        letter  of,  respecting  the  president's  habits  of  economy 242 

Worcester,  English  city  of,  defended  by  Henry  Washington  against  Fairfax     14 

Wright.  Joseph,  paints  portraits  of  Washington  and  his  wife ." 168 

"        attempts  to  take  a  plaster  mould  from  Washington's  face 158 

"        makes  a  medal  die  of  Washington   159 

Wright,  Mrs.  Patience,  wax  figures  of 15S 

Y. 

Yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia  in  1794.  Washington  retires  to  Mount  Vernon  to  avoid 272 

Yrugo,  Marquis  d',  the  Spanish  minster,  the  guest  of  Washington   n  1796  at  Mount  Vernon. .  275 
"        becomes  the  husband  of  Sail  v  McKean 27l> 


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